Less Is Bore !

Our freshly re-born home

2011-03-21T02:53:00.000-07:00

Hey there,

I've been a busy girl again lately... Once more NOT in my beautiful scrap-room though... Hubby and I had wanted to change our livingroom for quite some time already. So I started to look around for furniture as I had NO idea what I wanted. I figured once I found the pieces of furniture my heart wanted, the rest would follow. It did happen, but VERY slowly... And I am still sorta in between 2 styles. That's okay though. No need to follow the flock and stick to 1 exact style...
Everything in our house was terra cotta coloured or a lighter shade of it: the walls, ceilings, windowpanes, doors. Every freaking room! All our furniture was made of dark brown wood. So we sort of lived in a cave, LOL. With Indian/Eastern accessories such as a large wall-fan, a temple rug, etc. Or as one of my colleagues pointed out: like being in a Chinese restaurant.

The upperpiece of our mantle was not symmetrical so we had that straightened out by a carpenter, much better! Most walls are painted off-white except for the ones on the side of the mantle. They're a taupe/mauve kind of colour. I LOVE it! We're still awaiting our dining-room table unfortunately. That's gonna be a light/greyish kind of wood with 2 huge column-shaped legs. Like in a monestary or castle. Ofcourse I still need to get curtains and stuff...

By now the TV has been replaced with an enormous flatscreen that belonged to my dad :) I like the chandelier very much too. I wanted a shape like that, not the usual shape. I bought it in a store in our town, how lucky is that? The woman told me it's old and she bought it in Belgium, but it came from France.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

I made my own wall-art ofcourse, that wall desperately needed a splash of colour! I saved some of the wallpaint so it's the exact same colour as on the opposite walls! It's a triptych consisting of 3 canvasses, the middle one is 60x60 cm, the other ones are 30x60 cm. I applied gesso on them and just went with the flow. The iron ornaments came from my grandma's closet and I painted them to look silver, they were a sort of golden shade. Glad I saved them though :) I handcut and hand-sew the heart in the middle.

I'm so happy I could die...

2010-10-18T10:53:00.000-07:00

Wow...

I feel the need to re-introduce myself here! It's been 1,5 years ago since I blogged! It's also been that long since I really scrapped... Damn... What happened?

Well, Blythes came in my life. They came, saw and took my heart over. I started out with 1, June last year. Now, I'm up to 10 of them! And I'm building them a house, no, a whole appartment! So most my free time was spent with my beautiful plastic dolls, who are so much more than dolls. Their expressive faces, their attitudes, characters. The eyes that change colour and position. Their face that changes even more when you vary the angle of your camera. Their cute litte wardrobes, shoes, necessities...

Also, I moved my scrap-room! I'm no longer scrapping in the attic, I've moved one floor lower, in a spare bedroom. But, that bedroom had to be altered first. New ceiling with spotlights, fresh FUCHSIA paint on the walls, new Ikea furniture. This weekend I scrapped in my new room for the first time. The attic is still a mess, and not everything in my scrap-room is in place yet, but I can scrap again.

Combine these items and what do you get? Right, a LO about one of my Blythes... Her name is Roxie Starlight, she's cool, she's wicked, she's pierced, she's bored, she's hit puberty... You get the picture? If not, the visual's underneath... Check it out!

Take care, leave me a comment if you're still with me after all this time! Or, if you've just discovered me... I intend to show my face a lot more again... ;)

Happy scrappin'!

Love, marriage and accidents...

2009-05-03T01:02:00.001-07:00

Hey all,

So, life happened again while I was busy... waiting. One week ago, my hubby made a ride on his motorcycle and got hit by a car... Just a few blocks away from home! Thankfully, he saw it coming so he slowed down. And thankfully the woman that hit him with her car was pulling up, so both of them weren't speeding. But she was wrong. Pascal had the right of way, and she just didn't see him so she pulled up. He flew over her hood and broke his wrist and knee in the process. After the cops came and things were taken care off, I drove hubby to the Emergency Room. We waited and waited, even inbetween being helped. Pictures were taken and proved his broken wrist and knee. The knee fracture shouldn't be a big problem, so they just gave him some sort of sturdy stocking. But still, it hurts.

The wrist fracture is a neat one too, but the little bones inside his hand are dislocated and that's worse. That could lead to loss of power in his hand. :S So, after returning to the hospital yesterday and having new pictures taken, the doctor said he wants to be on the safe side and hubby has to have a scan next week. The week after that we can come back to find out the results and planning. If things don't appear to heal on their own, hubby will have to undergo a surgery. So, we're back to waiting again. Yuck.

In the midst of all this madness my brother got married this week. We were supposed to go their bachelor-parties Saturday, but that's the evening we spent at the hospital, so. Sunshine-wise the day started out fine, and even though it wasn't a big party, it was okay with the few people who attended. I made them the canvas shown below, and I made 2 cards, one from me and one from my dad.

Let me know if you like it! Happy scrapping, XOXO.

Here's the first card:

And the second card:

Some serious T-shirt pimpin'!!!

2009-05-03T01:02:00.000-07:00

Hey there,

Gosh, back so soon? Yup, 'cause I actually managed to create something! If all goes well, my friend Monique and I will be going to the Scrap a Fairytale weekend again, it's supposed to take place mid June. So, I thought it'd be fun if we made a T-shirt to wear to that event. A scrap shirt.

So, yesterday Monique came over and we were quite busy for many hours. She did a purple one, I did a fuchsia one. (Only my favorite color in the whole wide world!!!) It's a shame we didn't do any 'pre-pics', but I guess you know what a plane Tee looks like, right? :P

First, I stamped on the checkered background, then, I scrapped the letters "SCRAP" on the background. I made the 'S' out of 2 colours felt, the 'C' was made with metal studs and paint, the 'R' was made from white buttons, the 'A' was made from eyelets with silver ribbon laced through it and the 'P' was formed from ric-rac-ribbon.

I added a patch with 'punk', 'cause well, I scrap and I dig punky outfits/music/scrappin'/etc. I like to be/dress sweet and feminine with a little punky edge, you know?

Anyway, here's the result. I'm kinda proud of it, I have to add. (Well, all but the 'C' , I kinda messed that one up, but it will have to do...)

If you like it, let me know! If you have any questions about something I did, write me!

See ya! Happy scrappin'! XOXO

My 2nd publication!!!

2009-04-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

Yup, I've been a BAD blogger again! Bad scrapper too, for that matter... ;-) Again, I'm NOT in a scrapmood, strangely enough. I'm having a few days off and I wanted to scrap yesterday, but first I had to clean out my scrap-space. That took me HOURS!!! :-( When I was done, the inspiration had vanished, LOL.

However, the "Scrapbook" magazine that featured a LO and card I was asked to create for it, finally got published! Here are some screencaps of the front, and the pages with my work featured on it. (On the bottom page only the card on the left is my creation.)
God and it sounds so vain, but I'm not nearly as excited as I was when I got published the first time... You get used to it, I guess... :P

Further more, my brother and his (now) fiancee are getting married, very soon! May 12th. They're expecting, so they wanted to take care of that before the kid is due. Which will be somewhere in August. I took some pictures of them and I'm gonna scrap them something with these pics. Hope they'll like it. Hope I'll be inspired in time, too.

Happy Scrappin'! XOXO

Spring has finally sprung!

2009-03-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

Yeah, I know I have been MIA for a while, but I'm still around, LOL. I wasn't in a scrap-mood at all lately, somehow. The third IVF-attempt failed again, but I coped with it miraculously well. I am starting to experience some more trouble dealing with it, slowly. Next week we have to out gyneacologist again, and we'll see where we go from there.

After watching "My So-Called Life", I have been losing myself into fanfic again. That GREAT show ended so abruptly and left me so thoroughly unsatisfied, I had to create my own ending. I am still not finished after writing like 11 episodes. Writing is so difficult, I had to re-write almost all of the stories. The sentence-structure was boring, and there were times I strayed from the characters too much. Ugh. But it's fun trying to think what Jordan Catalano (played by Jared Leto...) would do :P

Further more, it's march. March is the month when my mother's birthday used to be, and my dad's birthday still is. We've had a bachelorette-party and wedding from my (beautiful looking!)niece, and both were great and big fun, but I really missed having my mom around :(

Last Thursday (March 19) it has been 3 years ago already since she passed away. Time goes by fast, but my feelings have trouble keeping up with time.

I did make some Valentine's Day Cards, and I will show them to you. I made some for my DH, my dad, brother and some friends. Also, I made a card and little giftbox for my niece's wedding. It says "JA" on the card, which means "Yes", which ofcourse it the key-word on a wedding-day ;)

One tip: NEVER make stuff only a few hours before the wedding...My hands and nails were covered in BLACK maya mist...:S Not so smart, I guess.

I am beginning to get excited about scrapping again now Spring has finally sprung. We've had SO little sunshine lately and so much rain and dreariness, it was becoming really depressing. But now, I'm looking forward to the new things that are coming out, by Prima, and Maya Road for example. I NEED the new Rebellious Line by Prima, and the American Crafts Teen line is on my wishlist too. I guess you could say I'm in the mood for some scrap-shopping :) But first I have to clean up my desk, there's still clutter lying on it from my last 3 projects or so. Ugh!!! :S

But, I'm in the mood for more refreshing changes, like around the house. Yesterday we bought some wallpaper for the hallway, it's kinda creamy with a green baroque-print. And I washed all my windows, after a loooooong time. Washed my car too, so I feel good about being busy. Cleaned up the house and made hubby move the TV-cabinet. So, I'm gonna go and enjoy my clean house and mind in a short while.

Happy Scrapping! XOXO

Counting the years isn't the same as making the years count...

2009-02-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

Hey there,

Haven't been scrapping much lately, 'cause I am not in the mood to sit in my attic all alooooooone. I am more into watching the telly, and especially my recently bought DVD series of "My so-called life". I had to watch that show, as die-hard Jared Leto-worshipper, ofcourse ;) And I must say I am enjoying it thoroughly...He's so darn cute! But vague, heartbreakingly vague even. The serie gets to me, I am back in highschool instantly. All insecure, withdrawn, head over heels in love with someone I can never call my own...So depressing, so recognizable. I had made a deal with myself to watch 1 episode every day of the week, every workday more specifically. Since there are 19 episodes, I should have been able to enjoy the series for almost a whole month! Go figure...Got the DVD on Monday, and I have only 3 episodes left to watch...Teehee..And I really can't imagine why the show got cancelled after 1 season!!!

Regarding my 3rd IVF attempt: I had a fertilized egg implanted in my woom again, last Thursday. Last Monday they "harvested" my eggs, and the count was kinda disappointing. There were 5 follikcels (?), but only 3 eggs. Of those 3 eggs only 1 was fertilized. Bummer. But, at least there was 1 fertilized. So, now we have to wait again for almost 2 weeks, to see if this little egg decides to stick with me. I do feel more positive than the previous time. Let's hope it will work, because I don't know how much more disappointments I can take :(

I actually did a little scrappy project too, I had started on it like 2 weeks ago, and was finally in the mood to finish it! It's basically a transparant LO, framed by a currogated board with a circle cut from it. Did some painting, embossing, glimmer misting, stamping, etc. As title & journaling I used the phrase "Counting the years isn't the same as making the years count..." I thought this sentence was appropiate for the engagement picture of my parents. (Back in 1973) As my mom passed away almost 3 years ago, we are so very much aware that it is soooo important to make the times you have together count. Seconds chances rarely happen...

I would love it if you would take a look at my LO and leave me some LUV! And remember to let your loved ones know they are loved by you!!! Perhaps a nice Valentine's Day card, a date or a present...? I still want to make some Valentine's cards of my own. Any nice ideas/links/sketches/whatever? Let me know!

Happy scrapping, happy living & loving. XOXO

P.S. The woodgrain-like background is actually my floor, since the LO is clear... :) )

Winter Wonder Land

2009-01-09T04:30:00.000-08:00

Hey you,

So, I didn't even mention that we are experiencing a REAL winter over here! It hasn't happened in yeeeeaaaars, so it is somewhat special. I have to admit though I am NOT a big fan of cold, brrrr....I hate my static hair and dry skin, I hate wearing so much clothing and still feeling cold. I hate the slippery roads, de-icing my car every morning and drive to my work feeling cold and frosty like a snowman...

However...I have to say: it looks GORGEOUS!!! And as much as I hate admitting it, you get used to the weatherconditions. That's the problem with this country and this climate, we don't get long cold winters, we get rain. And an occasional snow day. So we never get a chance to adjust ourselves, learn to get up earlier due to the de-icing, traffic and slippery roads. But it looks like we're gonna experience winter a bit longer this year...

And as a follow-up to my last blog-entry, I have a LO that goes with my feelings...Did this LO after finding out another person near to me is pregnant, whereas I have been trying for almost 3,5 years to become a mom.

Life gets just too much sometimes. I feel like Ruby Gloom, all gloomy. During the last 3,5 years my mom got cancer and passed away, I got into a identity-crisis, my marriage almost ended, I found out I have endometriosis, I lost 20 kilo's weight but gained them back, more people near me passed away, I had 2 failed IVF attempts (including the emotional and hormonal rollercoaster), while friends/colleagues/familymembers around me got pregnant, some even twice!

So basically the misery just did not END! I am fed up with this misery and want it to STOP!!! There is some more personal journaling which I hid behind the journaling ON the page.

I just want to be happy, and make the people I love happy. I want our dream to come true.

Hope you ARE happy though! XOXO, happy scrapping, see ya!

And a happy new year...

2009-01-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

Hey there,

Let me start off by wishing you all a very happy, healthy, cosy, loving, creative 2009!

To me, New Year's Eve is one of the most overrated Holidays of the year. I don't get the fuss. Maybe I am too negative, but it's a night like all the other nights. We stare at the TV, bored, whilst stuffing our faces with fattening food. (Like we need more after those Christmas Days...!)But it's a good time to look back and reflect, right?

Overall the year was okay. My work went well. My brother had to go away with the army for 4 months but came back safely. I bought a "new" car. And I was still loved by my DH, and became more and more certain we had made the right decision by sticking together.

Scrap-wize, there were many positive things:

* I scrapped a lot after losing my MOJO for quite some time, and rediscovered my own style(s)

* I got published in "Creatief Met Foto's"
* I got to create a LO and card for the magazine "The Scrapbook", using (tons of) their materials
* I made "The Catwalk" at "SIStv"
* I had a fabulous, fun, and scrappy "Scrap a Fairytale" weekend
* I went to the "Kreadoe" where I bought new scrap things (that were actually on my wishlist)

However, I do hope this year will be better than last year...Because this whole year has been hard because of my big wish, my wish to have a baby. And this whole year was about that one wish, with all the medicines I was given and had to inject myself with. All the moodswings I have been suffering (and still am) because of those hormones. I don't know anymore what feelings are my own: am I supposed to be depressed? Or feel so distant? Or go from emotion to emotion faster than a brandnew sports car reaches it's topspeed?

The hormones, the emotions, the let-downs after 2 failed IVF attempts...The whole world seems to be pregnant, and give birth, twice even, since we have started trying. It is so much too bare. And so few people understand this desire and what it does to you. Mentally as well as physically. I gained back all the weight I had lost about 2 years ago. It saddens me, I feel like a fat pig again. Especially since I already feel like less of a woman because I cannot do what apparently almost any woman can do. I can't make us happy.

And the only person who understood me, is gone. This March she will be gone for 3 years already. My mom. The one and only person who really got me, who knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. She was wise with her advice, and able to make me see a brighter future.

Thank God through this entire year I realised how much I love my DH, and how happy I am we made it through my identity-crisis after losing my mom. And how much I want to share something we created together, more than life itself.

Yesterday I started injecting myself again for our 3rd IVF attempt. The last one to be refunded by our medical insurance. Let's hope we won't need to do any more, because I don't know how much more I can take. Mentally, physically, financially.

I want "my time" to be now. This year...

BIG mistake...

2008-12-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

So...'tIs the season right...?! For what anyway? To be jolly? To be working is more like it! Man, every year around this time we're working our @sses off, but this year...?! It's not sane! INSANE! I even worked last Saturday, and chances are we will be working this Saturday as well. My shoulder already hurts, my muscles tremble and I am dizzy. Can't wait until these last 2 weeks are over!

Now that's off my chest, let's get on with scrappy things ;) Did some scrapping last week, inbetween the total catatonic lameness and mushy brain-ness I felt like letting off some steam. So I did a LO about one of the biggest mistakes in my life...Cutting my hair!

I was in that crazy place that time, that place where I wasn't myself and was looking for...who knows what. I was fed up with my hair and wanted a WILD do. Well, it didn't turn out wild, it turned out CRAP! It wasn't me and I have been totally miserable about my hair ever since the day (June 29th 2007) I left the barber's =( It's taking like forever to grow back, but it's beginning to reach of a decent lenght again =)

So, if you're busy at work: good luck! If not, enjoy the warmth of the season (feelings-wise obviously, not weather-wise) and the preparations for this festive time amongst family and friends.

Thanx for looking! Let me know if you like it! Happy scrapping, and XOXO!!!

I made the CATWALK!!!

2008-12-02T09:19:00.001-08:00

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!
CHECK! IT! OUT!

I'm happy! My DIVA-LO made the catwalk* @ SIStv!!! Yeehaa!!! My first time ever!!! Go over there now and see for yourself!!! I'm so proud of me! I feel so honored!!! :)

*catwalk-explanation, quoted from SIStv (Scrap in Style):"You all are so amazing that we want to make sure your layouts get the attention they deserve! Every week, our team of Fashionistas** as well as Jeanette will choose their favorite layouts/projects from the Strut Your Stuff Portfolio***. Check here every Tuesday to see the latest editions. Who knows? You may just be the latest designer showcasing their talent on our Catwalk!"

**Fashionista's: "They are so excited to interact with all of their new SISters and make sure you all are inspired, challenged, educated and most of all entertained."

*** Strutt your Stuff Portfolio: the gallery where the LO's from every SISters personal portfolio are showcased, so all the other SISters can be inspired and comment on your work!

Again, I am a very happy scrapper and will be doing some scrapping (almost...) right now while I am still filled with all this positive adrenaline/energy floating through my happy veigns;) XOXO

DIVA

2008-11-30T06:55:00.000-08:00

Hey there!

It's another cold and dreary weekend here :( Ofcourse that means: fantastic scrap-weather! But I am still extremely lame and lacking energy. It's very busy at work, it 's the season ;) We know this, because every year towards Christmas, we work our asses off! So that means we are probably gonna have to get out of bed veeeery early again, so we can start work at 6 o'clock. :S I have enough trouble getting up as it is, already!

I did finish a project though, it took me almost all week, so it had better be finished! Not that it's that spectacular or anything, but I guess I wasn't totally in the mood, not very inspired so to say. Have been fiddling with it. But now it's done.

I bought some embellishments the other day with tigerprint-fabric and then I remembered having papers with tigerprints as well. When I looked for a pic to match the colors and theme, I stumbled upon the 2 pics from the Glamourshoot I had in September. I used 2 of them.

Right now I am off to do the laundry again, again something I lack the energy for. Especially since our drier (14 years old) doesn't function very well anymore. It takes 2 to 3 times more time for the laundry to become dry! It messes up my whole schedule, so annoying!

Oh and I am still thinking whether or not I should go and do a workshop next weekend. There's one in a town nearby, by Lance from Rusty Pickle again. Only thing is, last year it cost me about 20/30 Euros, and this year it's 50 Euros! :O That's a lot of money in an already expensive month. Would be nice though...

Thanx for looking and if you like it, let me know!

Happy Scrapping! XOXO

My first blog-award! =)

2008-11-23T02:29:00.000-08:00

Helloooow,

While reading all those blogs, I noticed how many people got Blog Awards from other bloggers. My blog was never one of them, sadly. I have to admit I always got kinda jealous that nobody ever nominated ME for a blog award...Does my blog stink? Does my work stink? Or am I just another face in the crowd, someone who scraps but does not stand out...?!

Well, fancy receiving my first ever Blog Award this morning!!!! Me happy!!! =) So thanx a lot Patricia! You made me a happy scrapper! Check out her blog, I was astonished by her work. So young (yeah, when you pass the age-line of 30, even people in their twenties are young...), and already so much her own (vintage) style! It's a pity I can't return the award, but if I could girly, I would! See her beautiful work here: http://totallyinlovewithscraps.blogspot.com/

The rules that come with this award are listed here:

1.The winner may put the logo on their Blog.
2. Put a link up your blog to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 Blogs for the Kreativ Blogger Award.
4. Leave a comment for the nominees.

I do hope the blogs I am going to nominate aren't showered with these awards already so they will just think it's annoying to receive another one...:S Like fowarding mail ;)Just think of it then, as me stepping out of the silence, shouting at you: "I loooooooooove your work! I wish I could scrap like you! You're an inspiration to me and no doubt many others, so please keep up the good work!!!!" Now that's all said and done, let's get it on...

The nominees are:

1. http://littlememoriekisses.blogspot.com/
2.http://artsyfartsyscraproom.blogspot.com/
3.http://scrapperlicious.blogspot.com/
4.http://somewhereovertherainbowunicornsdream.blogspot.com/
5.http://dreamieland.wordpress.com/

So ladies, congrats! Well-earned this award! Happy scrapping to all of you out there! XOXO

My girls

2008-11-16T09:06:00.000-08:00

Heeeeyyyy fans...

I know, I know, waaaayyyy too soon after my last post, but hey, I finished a project, and I want you to take a look at it! I actually got a little scrapping done yesterday at my friend's house. She's chatty, that one ;) Next time we should just sit down and scrap immediately, and talk while we're at it...:P

I have to say dragging all my stuff over to someone else's house to scrap, isn't all that...:S Especially since I was in the mood for some "fun" scrapping, in which case I can almost use anything...When I scrap with coordintaed colorschemes, I find it easier to gather my stuff. It's mostly just stuff in 3 or 4 colors then. It probably would help too if I started to think about what I wanted to scrap in time...

The idea I had involved painting, so I brought along the colors I wanted to use. But when I opened my bottle of aqua blue paint, I discovered it was hard! :( I mean, HARD! One solid block of paint. Which...I don't get, because I think it's a new bottle! So how the h*ll did it get hard?! It was in the same drawer as all my other paints! Unfortunately my friend doesn't have that much scrapping supplies and/or paints, so I couldn't paint that part of my project. Ah well, my mojo disappeared along with the sunlight anyway...

But... today I sat in my attic for hours, and I finished it! I painted a little wooden container/box which housed an alpha-stamp-set once. I used some very merry Sassafrass Lass papers, felt flowers, tulle, etc. The picture was taken on my last birthday. It's a pic of me and my dearest friends, so I called it "My girls". Dunno if I am pleased with the result though, I think the colors are a bit too harsh, too bright I mean. Too LEGO-like. But who cares...I'll just scrap something else with the same pic and have a rematch...;)

Please, take a look, and let me know if you like it! Lovelovelove comments...!!!*grin*

Happy scrapping! XOXO

KREADOE...or...hybernation...?!

2008-11-15T02:56:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

here's a post from me again. Haven't scrapped that much lately, since it's always difficult for me to get adjusted to the lack of light during these months. As soon as it's dark outside, I want to curl up on the couch and never leave it again. If my boss would let me, I'd probably go into hybernation ;) Going upstairs to my lonely attic to scrap doesn't appeal to me at all :(

But...fortunately there are weekends. Last weekend I have been busy though, busy shopping for scrap-supplies that is =) My sis in law Ramona, 2 colleagues of mine (Esther & Natalie) (all infected with the dangerous money-consuming scrap-virus by me) and myself ofcourse went to the Kreadoe fair in Utrecht.

It's an annual hobby fair, where you can buy stuff for all sorts of hobbies: scrapping, mosaic, 3D, knitting, jewelry making, etc. You can even participate in some workshops and do make and takes. But my friends and I just shopped till we dropped! At first we galloped from one booth to another, loaded with enthusiasm...But as our budgets got tighter, our bags got heavier, and our feet hurt more and more, we lost our enthusiasm.

I found some of the things I had been hoping to find, such as Maya Mists, Glimmer Mists, and Tim Holtz Crackle Paints. The picture is a bit overexposed I am afraid, I shot it with my cellphone which I haven't got used to yet...

Further more I bought some fun and pretty brads: owl-shapes, skeleton shapes, and bling bling. And some cute pins with star and heart shapes on top of them, in different colors.
Here's all the stuff I bought (excluding the papers and painty things): some deep wooden frames, ribbons, Prima tapes, felt swirls, chipboard swirls, flowers, bind-it-all rings, velvet and glitter sheets for glue motifs and colored chains.

I didn't buy that much paper, but I couldn't resist some of the latest Sassafrass Lass ;)
And this cutie pie begged me to take him home as well (aaaaaaaaaaaaw):
After the fair we sat outside for a wile, while 3 of the 4 ladies in the picture had to smoke...(I am on the top left of the pic and I was the only non-smoker there...)

All in all this was a fun and cosy day and I am happy with my new stuff. I was BEAT when I got home eventhough it wasn't late in the evening. I went to bed pretty early and started to sort out my stuff next morning. Only thing is; I didn't have much time to do it, because we had to go and pick up my brother who was coming home again!

My brother is enlisted in the army and left 1 july to the United Arabic Emirates, which is near Dubai. Him having to go away for that long is never fun ofcourse, but I was happy he didn't have to go to Afghanistan. The majority of his time there he unloaded aircrafts and...sweated. A lot. It was f*cking hot over there...Even the shower didn't provide cooling down, since it was a mega big metal tank filled with water which was standing in the sun, all blistering day long...:S

The waiting at the airport always takes forever. We had to be there an hour before the awaited landing time, so we waited, and walked, and tried to look through the windows, and ate some, and then we waited some more. 45 Minutes after the supposed landing time, they finally landed. It took another 15 minutes for them to walk through the doors and greet their loved ones...Aaargh...!!! But...he's back now!

Off to my friend Monique today, maybe we're gonna do some scrapping together...So, I have to cook up a project and find my materials...(Considering my indecisiveness and waaaaay too large scrap-supply-stack combined with my too big photo-stack that's going to be tough...)

Thanx for reading/looking! Happy scrapping! XOXO

Dreamer

2008-11-04T10:00:00.001-08:00

Hey girls,

Wrapped up my RAK, by mailing it to the lucky girl in Canada today ;) I am curious to see what someone else creates with my stuff! But I guess I will have to wait for her mailman to deliver and her mojo to see.

An idea popped into my head the other day, with a picture of my mom in a blue blouse. While my hubby was not in the mood for me during the first part of Saturday evening, I hid in my attic and started to create. (I wasn't in a scrap-mood at all, but I guess the atmosphere of my attic rubbed of on me!) It took me almost all Sunday to finish it, but I am pleased with the result.

I wanted to do something in this style: shabby chic, vintage, fairytale like, in these icy pastel colors to match my mom's blouse and the dreamy feeling of it all, and I succeeded in my own humble opinion =) The journaling is hidden behind the picture, and reads this:

"Mom, despite (or maybe thanx to?) your difficult childhood, you have always been a dreamer. You prefered to float in the clouds, with your little feet off the ground. (Your sign was PISCES...)

Sometimes, Secretly we'd laugh at your wild dreams and plans: "Oh no, wat did she think of THIS time...?!"

You and dad wanted to live in a castle or big house. Even abroad, if that was what it took. No matter how much I wanted to see you 2 happy, I am still glad that you 2 didn't move far away! The owning-your-own-store-dream DID come true, "COSY" existed for about a year. (2000/'01)

But during that time you developed yourself SO much spiritually, that that slowly became your calling. Bit by bit the idea of owning your own spiritual centre dawned on you; including fairs. You preached "The power of the Light" until your last breath. Hopefully you are happy now, in your own little castle in the sky."

Sorry about the crappy pics. Daylight was gone already, and I won't have another chance to photograph during daylight again until Friday afternoon. Take a look and please let me know what you think?! I looooove comments! THNX!!!

Happy scrapping, XOXO

You were a DREAMER

RAK winner!!!

2008-11-02T04:01:00.000-08:00

Well...Time to anounce the winner of my RAK! =) I even added 3 more items, I just can't stop...;)Added some fruity decoration tapes, some yellow and green metal butterflies and some very Kawai wiggly stickers. Hope you like it!

As I said, I thought this would be fun, but right now I haaaaaaaate disappointing the rest of you girls :( But...be sure to watch my blog, because I am certain I will do this again! As most of you have been able to see, (if you haven't: check the pics in my SIS-portfolio!) I have a big scrap-room with loads of stuff and I like sharing, so...

Well...Drum roll...

BREE, please send me your adress so I can send it to you!

Please let me know when the goods have arrived, just in case?! Enjoy, and please, let me see what you create with it!!! Can't wait!!!

Sorry again to the rest of you, but better luck next time?

XOXO. Have a nice day and happy scrapping!

RAK

2008-10-26T05:19:00.000-07:00

Hello scrappy friends!

As some of you may have read on the messageboards of SIStv, I am doing a RAK! (If you don't know what that means: Random Act of Kindness. ) In other words: I am giving something away. Just for fun =) Giving gives me more pleasure than receiving at times; making other people happy is just super! I have 2 conditions though:

1.You can't be a Dutchie, because most of the stuff is from Dutch non-scrap stores, and I want to share this cute stuff with someone who can't buy it in their own country.

2. Once you've made something with any/some/all of the items... SHOW ME! ;)

The RAK consists mostly of notebook papers, some documentholders, paperbags, ribbons, cupcakeholders, starframes for the tagmaker, some fabric hearts and homemade flowers. (My aunt crocheted a whole jar full for me! So sweeeeeeeet!!!)

I have put a pic of the RAK below, so if you like it, just leave me a comment! Any comment will do! If you do happen to read my blog more often, introduce yourself to me! Because besides some of my "real" friends, I don't know if anyone else is interested in me/my work.

P.S. A note to my "real" friends: (You know who you are, right? I mean: you are my reallife friends, you get that, don't you? I am just figuring out how to explain the difference between you girls and my internet-sisters...) if you like any of the items on the picture, you know that I am always happy to share. =) Love you gals!!!

Happy scrappin'! XOXO

(Saturday) NIGHT FEVER

2008-10-19T06:14:00.000-07:00

Hellooow dear scrappy friends,

It's me, again. ;) I have been scrapping lots and lots lately!!! Last week I have been scrapping in my attic for 4 evenings in a row, my DH even started to complain I had to stay with him. Poor thing.

Also, I scrapped a LO and a card I can't show yet, since they are going to be published in a magazine. So, I will show them to you after they have been published. Can you believe I am just saying this like it's a normal thing...?! At first, when the lady asked me if I wanted to make something for a scrap magazine, I was psyched. :D When I got the box filled with goodies, I was psyched again! :D I was even more happy when I found out I got to keep the contents!!! Then I felt a little insecure while scrapping, what if she didn't like it? What if it wasn't good enough? I mean, I just did what anyone can do: put pics onto a paper and add embellishments.

Anyway, when I was finished, I sent her the pics and the description. And man, finding out what article-numbers I had used and typing down all the numbers of the used items, was more work than scrapping the LO! I was very nervous about her reaction. But...she liked it! She thought it was super, was thrilled with my fresh young style, and was even proud of me!!! So, all my worries had been in vain. Thank God...Plus, she asked me if she could call on me again! Waddayathink...?!

I finished a mini that I am content with and very happy about. I even feel kinda proud, which doesn't happen to me that much. It's a mini featuring my party pics. You know, the pics they make when you're painting the town red. I think the colors and materials radiate the fun and girly theme very well.

I thought instead of the obvious who, where, when journaling, I'd do lists of my favorites. So that when I am old and grey I can read about who I liked to party with, where I partied, what I drank, what tunes I liked, and what I loved to wear. Or, even better, so my grandkids can have a good laugh when they see pics of their granny having a ball. ;) And make fun of the terribly old fashionned music she listened to.

But, back to the here and now first. I had lots of work with the various items, eventhough it may not show. I stamped the journaling blocks on plastic milkwhite transparant index cards and cut around their scalloped edges. I painted the backsides pink. The purple picture frames are stamped on foam and then outlined with a silver 3D-paint-pen again. I painted some Heidi Swapp ghost flowers white, and sprinkled glitters onto them.

I kept the pages on the inside basically the same, I thought they looked clutterd enough already, and that's how I keep the unity in it. On the left page I placed the journaling block with my favorites written on it, and the title/theme is on a theme-matching chipboard shape, stuck to a flower. On the right page there's a party pic and the ghostflower with a button attached to its centre.

I used the papers, flowers, glue motifs and paintdabbers I got from BAPERO/CREAMOTION, so THANX A MILLION!!!

Just take a look and let me know what you think of it!!! Happy scrapping to you! XOXO!!!

Once upon a time

2008-10-17T07:38:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, in a land far far away from here, there lived a beautiful princess. Here name was Lady Guinevere. She used to have long, lightbrown locks, almost until her buttocks! She used to sit in her tower and dream about a handsome prince who would come to take her with him.
One fine day she did meet a prince, who rode a horse of steel. He swept her off her feet and they built a life together. He adored her, and her long hair most of all. After the princesses mother passed away, the princess lost weight and felt like a totally different person. An independent woman in control of her life and body, not a girl who waits around for the prince all day to come and rescue her, tell her what to do, and entertain her.

With all the changes that she went through physically and mentally, she grew tired of her hair.

So...she cut it off...!!!

And that's not the end of the story, but it's all for now...Until we meet again my friends, in fairytale land, or, perhaps, in real life. Sweet dreams until then.

Don't dream your life away though...

Scrap a Fairytale

2008-10-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow scrapsters!

Time for a little update from me again! I haven't been in a scrappy mood lately, so I didn't do any stuff. But....My friend Monique and I went to the 'Scrap a Fairytale'-event in Doorn (Netherlands) last weekend!!! I had been really looking forward to this, and finally it arrived.

We departed from my hometown at about 11.30. We had planned our first workshop at 13.30, so we didn't have to leave at the crack of dawn ;) We arrived at the "castle" Beukenrode neatly in time, fortunately. It was a big old villa in the midst of a park. Very beautiful. We knew we were where we were supposed to be, when we saw ladies carrying around their scrap-totes filled to the brim. Ofcourse, our own totes were filled as well. (Mine a bit more than my friends, as always...)

The lady who organized the event, Truike, welcomed us and gave us keycords with receipts in them. We looked around a little, took a sanitary break and looked around in the room where the store was. I got greedy immediately, there were many cute chipboard items by Maya Road, velvet flowers, little cheap clear stamps and lots and lots more. After browsing around we had to rush to get to our first class, which was Hidden Storage, a Wooden Album. Honestly, we both signed up for the desk storage thingy (by kaiser crafts) which was substituted with this class. I thought it would be a nice equivalent, but it wasn't all that. My friend thought it was too messy, because of all the different shapes, and I didn't really like the color scheme myself. But there's always something to be learned!When this was done (I mean the class, not the book, teehee...) we had a little time left to look around and drink something before dinner. We sat down after a little while and we got our hors d'oeuvres. It was too crowded so there were some people who had to eat standing at a table. Then there was a buffet with the main course. We waited in line for a long long time, but while waiting you chat to eachother so it wasn't a bad thing. =) Dinner was okay, and everyone was hungry after all the information pumped into their brains all day long.

During diner and/or desert there was a lottery going on. Everybody had a raffle ticket and the numbers were shouted out. There were some great prices given away, varying from very small items to big expensive packets. So, some people were luckier than others. I won too...Guess what? A package of cowboy themed paper, and a booklet full of cowboy themed phrases. Okay...Wasn't the best prize ever...But I have an old pic of my dad as a kid, dressed as a cowboy. And my husband is a modern day cowboy, all manly, wearing cowboyboots, jeans and a leather jacket, while riding his steel horse. So, it might work after all.

After desert (some jummy looking icecream pudding thingy) we went upstairs for our next class, Glimmer Mist. We sat at a big round table and all had our heatguns with us. The class taught us how to use glimmer mist, with masks, etc. We loved this, the colours as well as the materials as well as the theme. And we made a big mess...:P

Class ended at about 21.30 and it was time to go to the hotel. There was a big fuss during the day about my friend and I sharing a room, since we hadn't told anyone we wanted this when we were signing up. That was because there wasn't any option to do this, not even a spot for remarks, plus there was even insecurity whether or not our application had even been confirmed! But, after a whole lot of insecurity and mixing up of persons, we got to share a room. It's half the fun of going away together, so we were happy. The hotel was a few minutes away and it was okay, nothing special. Very seventies though. ;) It was surrounded by woods and it was pretty stormy that night. We had some fun, chatted, took more silly pictures and my friend laughed at my PJ's. Around midnight we decided it was time to try and get some sleep, since we had to get up at 7.30 the next morning.

We awoke a little before the alarm went off after a stormy night. We chatted some more, got ourselves ready and wlaked downstairs to get some breakfast. We got lost on the way down, the hotel was built like a maze...But we got there in the end and enjoyed the breakfast buffet. We got our bags from the room and checked out barely in time. Or so I thought, but we arrived at the castle in time.

I had a class at 9.30 and my friend didn't. The class was taught by Caroline Lau, on of the owners of Maya Road! We did a mini-album with their butterfly/angelic chipboard wings. Very cute. So were all the embellishments by Maya Road. Definitely one of my favorite brands at the moment! We actually finished this mini-album in about 3 hours time, so that's brilliant! We got to use glimmer mists again, and Maya Mists as well. (I have to get me some of those, you can even spray them on ribbons and clothing and after being heat set they will stay on!) I was very happy about this class and the result.

My friend had been bored during all this time, she did do a make and take and browsed in the shop but it was a looooong time to be alone. So, again, we chatted, had lunch and hoped to win something in the lottery which was being held again. My friend was lucky this time...Well, she won, but it wasn't a big prize either. Hold on to your seats: she won 2 Bo Bunny rulers and 4 pencils...

After this it was my time to be alone while my friend had a class. So, I shopped. And shopped some more. And then I shopped even more. And then I was really hoping she'd be back soon before I bought the entire store...:S I got loads of little clearstamps, flowers, chipboard thingies, My Minds Eye papers and matching embellishments (Jody Hunt from My Minds Eye was there, taught some very super classes and gave a discount of 25% on all of their products!) and thickers in various colors and materials. Thankfully my friend returned before I had bought even more. ;)

We left shortly after this, so we would be back home in time. It was about 15.30 when we took off. We arrived at my hometown a little after 5 o' clock. The weekend was great, most of the workshops as well, we had fun, the shopping was super, in short: I really enjoyed myself! Truike told us she would organize another weekend next year in june, if it's up to me...I will go again...!!!

Scrappy hugs from me!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

You colour my world

2008-09-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hello my scrappy friends,

as I write this, I am already 1 year older...I turned 31 the day before yesterday!!! My B-day was okay. Cosy, yet small, in comparison to the Big B-day Bash I had last year ;) Also, this was already the third B-day without my mom. And my brother is still far away with the army, so another family member was missing. But most of my dear friends and relatives were there.

The other day (hmmm, actually, the other week...) I scrapped an LO about hubby and I. The pics were taken in Gent (Belgium) where we were during our last vacation. We ran into an alley covered in graffiti, so I HAD to take pictures! I was afraid to use graffiti-themed paper at first, because I was scared it might take the attention OFF my pics. But the paper I found complements my pics beautifully without overwhelming them. I titled this: "YOU COLOUR MY WORLD".

Take a look if you like:

Also, I had this very fun glamourshoot previous Saturday! It was such a fun concept! We got to go there with a whole group of friends. Unfortunately I only knew 2 persons there: my sis in law and her sister. The rest of the group was made up of friends from friends from my sis in law's sister...But I had fun anyway!

Every one of us got a glamour make-up and we could dress up in 2 of our classiest outfits. At first everyone got a private shoot, and after that we got catwalk lessons. A young woman taught us how to walk the catwalk and how to pose @ the end. We changed into our other outfits and then everyone had to walk the catwalk, applauded by the rest. Such a fun experience, it made me feel feminine. Of all the pictures we could only order 5, of those 5 I am very happy about 3 of them, and less happy with 2. But that's still 3 beautiful pictures!!!

We have a scrap-store in a little town near us (Bentelo), where I go to once in a while. Ofcourse I chat with the woman who runs it, and the other day she told me that she is now working for a Dutch scrap company as well, CreaMotion. She helps design the new papers etc, and she's kind of in charge of the magazine. She said she was looking for people who would like to contribute something, and asked me to send her some pics of my work. If my work was good enough, she would ask me for future magazines, maybe.

So, Thursday, the day before my B-day she sent me an e-mail asking me if I still wanted to make something. DUH, what do you think?! I was asked to make a LO and 2 cards for their scrap-magazine! Honestly, the magazine isn't all that, but who cares? ;) She is going to send me stuff, and I get to make something for free! I also get some compensation, next to having my name and work published in a magazine ofcourse =) I am very curious about the papers and colours, the line is called "Girl Power", so I think it's just my thing...!!! Now I just hope my mojo will be back soon, because I seem to have lost it, somewhere...

And this weekend my friend Monique and I are going to the "Scrap A Fairytale" event in the castle Beukenrode!!! I am soooo looking forward to it!! This weekend a warehouse in our town had a discount on scraptrolleys, so I bought one for myself. :) Thought it would come in handy for such events, and visiting my friends on scrapdates.

In short, I am a happy scrapper =) And I sincerely hope you are too...

*HUGS & KISSES* XOXO

And she will be loved...

2008-09-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

Helloow my scrappy friends,

So, I am back to work again for the second week already. Holiday seems like a distant memory again... I guess life is back to normal again. Work, eat, sleep. Sortof...

Dunno if I told you about the Scrap a Fairytale already...?! I am hoping to attend it, October 4 & 5, in The Netherlands, in Doorn. In sort of a villa. It's only 1,5 hour drive from where I live, and I am attending it with my friend Monique. The reason I say hoping, is because I did sign up at first, and then didn't get my confirmation until later. And they mailed me then that I would get my payment-details within 5 days. So, when about 2 weeks had past, I mailed them again, telling them about this. They thought it was strange and would check it later. Because they had been mailing everyone their bills recently. This was promised to me last week. The lady would try to find something Friday, otherwise her colleague would certainly be able to check it Saturday. Guess what day it is today? Sunday...

I hope they get their act together very soon, because as long as I don't pay...my spot, workshops, and workshop-times aren't set...!!! And I really want to go to those workshops, at those specific times! Because my friend and I want to do 2 together, en we don't want to have to get up redicilously early and be back very late. So, I am waiting, wishing and hoping. Wondering if I should mail them again...*SIGH*

In between sorting out my scrap-attic and scrap-stuff (again, for the umpteenth time...) (I keep buying new stuff, I have to stop doing that!!!) I managed to make 2 LO's in these past weeks. Very different ones, LOL.

Unfortunately another scrap-store near me is going out of business, so I bought myself some stuff and...A PAPER RACK!!! It's all filled up already, but I am a happy scrapper. =)

Here's the first LO I did, starring a pic I took of my dad while he was sunbathing during our vacation 2 years ago. One of my dad's dogs, Xiucai, follows him around wherever he goes. So, when my dad was lying there, he wanted to be with him anyway, no matter how hot it was. I gave the title lots of thought, I found it hard to come up with something not too cheesy, and not too obvious. So when "Tan for Two" popped in my head, I stuck with it. The journaling sort of says: "Xiucai loves being near his boss. Even while he is sunbathing..." That doggy is so silly and affectionate it keeps melting my heart. =)

The second LO is kind of vintage. Or I hope so. I was in the mood to scrap vintage for some time already, and then preferably with cream, old pink, or pale blue. Ofcourse, I didn't have any paper to meet my demands, so I made it myself. I used 3 layers of paint, cream, crackle paint, and then I blended my own old pink on top. I didn't know what picture to use until I came across this old one of me. Ain't I cute...? Or chunky, for that matter...;) Again, I had a hard time coming up with a title, but I went for "And she will be LOVED" . Because I know I was, and still am.

I used lots of paint, stamps, distressing, glitters, sewing, lace, etc. At first when I was finished, I thought the whole thing looked boring. Dull. Like it was gonna fall asleep any time soon. It needed a fix, but what...? It was made up mostly of old pink and cream, so I added more green, and that spiced the whole thing up. It made more sense now. Now it's finished, but I am not completely satisfied with it. I don't like how it turned out, it's still not exciting. I am disappointed with the result.

I was going for something inspired by a scrapper I discovered recently, her name is Meriam. I found her scraps on SIStv, and then discovered her blog. I'll put a link to her blog up here, you should really see her art, it's so gorgeous and fragile! http://littlememoriekisses.blogspot.com/

Well, judge my LO for yourself. (Sorry 'bout the bad lighting of the pics, dunno why, but couldn't get it better...) Is it vintage...? Is it finished...? Is it boring...? Tips, comments, guidelines, links, anything is always welcome and very appreciated!

I hope to see you next time! Until then, happy scrappin'!

DREAM, but don't sleep...

2008-08-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I am back this soon...!!! I know, I know, you didn't even get a chance to read my previous blog-entry, or to miss me for that matter, but I made an LO that I wanted to share with you!

My creative juices are flowing at the moment, and for that sake alone already I hope that my hormonal status will keep on going like this! Weird belly-cramps make me question it though, but we will just have to wait and see. Again...

When things are more certain I will fill you in, I was actually trying to keep this blog a bit fun and just about my scrap-related adventures, not like my other blog where I pour my heart out to the whole world. But I am too honest. And too blabby. And too fond of typing.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon I had the sudden urge to splatter paint over a piece of irregulary torn cardboard. I just had to do it, so weird! So I painted 2 colors of green, and got out some accents and stuff in those greens as well. Because no matter how bad I want to freestyle, I have to stick to color-matching schedules...Slowly another color joined in the fun: pink.

I used some transparant wrapping paper with barok-print I had been dying to use, it's like a Hambly, only thinner. Stamped 2 big pink barok-thingies on the sides of my cardboard. Added some ribbons, a stamped and embossed title, a fun journaling block (which I stamped on some white semi-transparant package of something.) Buttons, fun stuff, some dotted ribbon with buttons to hang my project on (because it's slightly too big to fit in a page protector...) and lots of stitching finished the job. And I even added a cupcake holder!!!

The title is a quote I had heard somewhere. Dream, but don't sleep. Dreaming is good, humans need to do it to stay alive. We need to wish for things we would like to accomplish. But doing that mustn't keep us away from the reality. Because the world is going on, life is going on, with, or without you. We shouldn't close our eyes to all the beauty that surrounds us and is worth living right now. Don't dream your life away...

My first real attempt at freestyle. I guess. Let me know what you think. Is it freestyle? You like it? I know some of you wont like it, but I like that I am growing and am experementing as a scrapper. It's good to think outside the box. To let yourself be guided by some unknown force...

Ofcourse here are the pics so you can judge for yourself...May the force be with you, also...;)

Of all the things you wear, your EXPRESSION is the most important...

2008-08-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

Hello my scrappy-friends, I am here again! I am still enjoying my holidays.

We went to Brugge (in Belgium) the week before last one, and I had a good time. It was pretty. although it resembled some Dutch cities. Which, according to my hubby (who is very good at remembering random unimportant crap but keeps forgetting about things that matter), was logical since most of the city was built during the time it still belonged to the Netherlands. Aaah, that makes sense. But we had fun, saw the sights, took a boat-trip over the canals, and went to the beach where we got a (reddish) tan, teehee. ;)

We saw 2 movies in Brugge, The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian and WALL-E. And I have to say, both actors are the cutest!!! Ben Barnes who plays Prince Caspian is a hotty, and the movie was good, better than the first part! And Wall-e is totally adorable, I am in love with him! He's so clumsy and sweet, you HAVE to see this pic! It's good for loads of laughs as well.

Last week we continued to pimp our backyard. We got a brandnew fab lounge-set I am very pleased about! My sweet daddy offered to pay half, so that increased my budget immediately! Thanx, dad! You're the best!!! Got some great lanterns to go with it, and a rectangular sunshade. Finally, after all those years, my yard is coming together! In the meantime my dad has been busy painting the outside of our house, which was very necessairy. And hubby has been busy with the garden at the front of our house (which is empty now, apart from sand...) and fixing cars and motorcycles of people I dont even know. :S

I am beginning to become one of those people who doesn't need to go away from home to relax. I enjoy myself thoroughly amongst my own stuff, being able to do what I want and when I want it. And if I want to go shopping, I go shopping. Not in those crappy Belgium towns. You can't shop decently there. They're not even into scrapping yet! :O

Just as I was beginning to think I wouldn't scrap anything this vacation, the right hormones finally kicked back in...I scrapped an LO with a kinda vague pic of me, but beautiful and arty looking. Got the look I went for, so I am pleased with it. :) Almost. Hehehe.

The quote on the LO ("Off all the things you wear, your expression is the most important") is appropiate for me, since I am someone who doesn't love herself, or accepts her appearance. Eventhough I know it's not your looks, but the radiation of your inner beauty that matters. I don't judge my friends by their appearance either, but by their character. And I shouldn't even care what strangers think about me. They don't know me. And sure, I have gained weight again. But it's not as if being thin made life easier for me. Plus, I have a good reason for gaining weight. Medically. But, who cares, right?

I am starting off with some pics of a LO I did in January, about my wishes back then. Nothing has changed, because I still long for all those things. It's called "I wish..."

Enjoy, be inspired, create, and leave comments please!!! Me like comments! =)

Here's the LO I was talking about earlier, it's called "GLOW". I finished this yesterday. Well, technically, this morning, after altering it some more to my satisfaction...:P

PASSIE (Passion...)

2008-07-27T04:31:00.000-07:00

Hey there, she's back! Still counting the days until my well-earned summer-vacation. But from now on it's "just" one week to get through, so...That's do-able. We still have to go to a travel-agency though and book our vacation...:S We're thinking of Denmark, Kopenhagen more specific. It's a 7-hour-drive for us. But we will have to wait and see till Tuesday.

This week I finished the mini-album I was making about my hubby. I already had these papers by Marah Johnson lying around, intending to use them for pics of hubby on his motorcycle.

I titled the album "PASSIE". It's a double title, in English Passie means Passion. And that ofcourse has to do with hubbies passion for riding and (re-)building his bikes. But, hubbies name is Pascal, which we shorten to Passie sometimes. So, it's his name and his game. :)

The other day I had scanned an old pic of him sitting on his first motor-bike, he was like 20 years old there. Instead of showing some enthusiasm for my creativeness with his pic (I made frames and antique looks in Photoscape, very cool, or so I thought) he asked me why I was using photographs of him that were 20 years old...(A little exaggerated, he's 35 years old now, so the pics were 15 years old, tops...:P )
Well, there's a simple answer for it, and I gave it to him. He never likes to pose for pictures...All our vacation-pics etc feature him with some weird funny face or a do-I-have-to-be-in-another-picture-because-I-am-so-bored-please-hurry-up-face. I HATE it! (It's one of the reasons I am dying to have kids, hopefully I will finally have a willing photo-object...!)

That being said, I took my chance when he was going away for a motor-drive some Sunday this July. Still in my PJ's, I walked outside and photographed him while he was sitting on his motorcycle and was preparing in his own way. He cooperated reluctantly, which shows in some pictures. The familiar face is there again....Even the eyes look towards the sky as if to ask for lightning to strike me at that exact time so he can get out of this utterly dreadful, totally useless and precious time-consuming posing-session.

But, I got my pictures! Some were even good, hey, I'm good... (Not to brag, but photography is one of my strong points. I am not someone who knows or acknowledges all of her strong points. Ask me for my flaws and I'll give you a list that dazzles you, but strong points...?!) Well, I mean, that sometimes the camera does exactly what I have in my mind. I capture the perfect moment or pose or whatever. And that thrills me, I mean, I can't all be coincidence, some skill has to be involved next to pure luck, right?

So, I made my book, did loads of painting, stamping, glimmer-misting, diamond-glazing, embossing, and searched for all the right details. "Rough & Tough" details. So no flowers and stuff. And I felt kinda restricted, like I was in a box and couldn't step out to use anything else. All the things I would have usually added didn't seem manly enough. Too girly and glitzy. But I made it. Barely though. Because when I was reaching the end, my pages were lying on my desk when... I topped over my mug filled with water (for the paint-brushes)...!!!

Oh man, the water just flowed over almost all my pages and I just saw all my work going down the drain...I didn't cry but I came close...I dabbed it dry as good as I could, and let it dry on the table. Fortunately the damage wasn't too big, the pages were a little wet and soaky but they dried up nicely. Not too many blobs or letting go of glue or destroyed paper. The pics were alright too. One felt a little weird, but it already had an antique look, so I decided a few more funny marks didn't matter. Man...My bad luck hadn't run out totally, because when I put the pages in my newly acquired Bind-it-all, the back-page was in there crooked...So the upper holes are half of the page. Crap...!!!

I had to wait for the black and white checked ribbon, I planned to use that as a closure for the album. It had to be THAT ribbon because that's the motive hubby has on his helmet and bike as well, so, it was perfect. Then I finally finished and proudly showed the fruits of my labor to hubby accompanied by a "Taaaadaaaaa!"

I don't know how YOUR men react to your projects, but mine never comes any farther than:"nice"... Reading some of my journaling had him laughing reluctantly (he wanted to laugh because it WAS funny but he wouldn't give me the credit...). Because, ofcourse, as far as the journaling went, he didn't cooperate either. He gave me stupid childish answers so I had to come up with my own answers. And I did my own description of him, whether he liked it or not. He's the man who likes to be dirty (greasy black) and is surrounded by waaaay to many decibels and the stench of gas...

And guess what, he even had the nerve to ask me if I was gonna do another booklet about him and his other motorcycles as well. WHAT...?! I beg your pardon...?! My jaw practically fell to the floor...Me, do another series of pictures without his cooperation, more descriptions about his bikes without his techical insight and help...Make another album that is being welcomed with a luke-warm "nice" after all my effort...What do you think, Passie...?! Dream on, boy...

Amor at Omar

2008-07-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hey all you readers out there, it's time for an update again! While everyone around me is already enjoying their holidays, I am still counting the weeks until it is time for my vacation. Yeah, you read that right, weeks, not even days... :( And we may not even be going away, due to circumstances. How about you...?!

My little brother, who is in the army, has left for the Emirates last week. He will have to stay there for a total of almost 5 months. I am glad though he is in a safe zone, there isn't any war going on over there, just rich oil-sjeiks, lots of sand and high temperatures. Like 60 degrees Celcius!!! Dang you, poor thing!

I already kinda miss him, eventhough we may have the traditional love-hate-relationship a brother and sister are supposed to have. I can only imagine how much he and his girlfriend are missing eachother right now.

I made a trip to the Scrapbookstore in Heesch, the one that publishes the magazine "Creatief met Foto's". I still had 100 Euros worth of coupons for being published, so it was time to cash them in! ;) Ofcourse, the coupons weren't enough. It never is with me. :P I bought the Big Bite and Zutter Bind-it-All and loads of ribbons and waaaay more stuff. The "Rockstar" paperblock by DCWV also went home with me. I had had my eyes on it for quite some time already and it was on sale. How could I resist...?! Teehee...

I finished an acrylic tryptich with pics of hubby and I, taken during our last vacation in Istanbul. I called it "Amor at Omar", because the restaurant in which the pics were taken was called Omar. And the 2 of us provided the Amor-factor. The place was cozy, beautiful, arabic, 1001-night, and had an absolutely breathtaking view of the city!!! It was a fairytale and we were living it!!!

I had never done an all transparent background before, so it was a challenge. It became more freestyle than my usual thing, and that is what I was going for. Although somehow I can't tell the difference between one thing I made and the other. It's all ME. :)

I will leave you with some (not very sharp) pics of my acrylic-freestyle-trip. Comments are always welcome! Questions/links/ideas as well!!!

I wish you a scrap-a-licious evening/week/weekend/vacation. See ya!!!

LOVE is all that matters

2008-06-26T23:34:00.000-07:00

Good day to you!

So, it's time for an update again...!!! Nothing much happenin' around here, but after the past few hectic years I am fine with that. I would never sing a song about my life being boring, because thrill and excitement never happens the way you want it to anyway, so...

I did become the owner of a "new" car in the mean time, and I am very happy about that. Coincidentally I read an article about scrapping the relationship with your car in Creating Keepsakes, from some very cute, refreshing and unexpected angles, so I am waiting fot the pics of my cars to be delivered to scrap away!!!

I already thought up the story about my old car, I really had a hard time letting it go. That little car has always been good to me. I think it just broke down once, in 5 years! But it was getting too rusty, and hubby had already patched it up several times. He believed it was going to be hard to get it approved again next time. So, I decided to try and sell it while I still could get some money for it instead of it just costing me money...So far, no good. It has been on this sale-site for almost one week now, but to this day we still have had no calls. =( For now it means I own 2 cars, which is nothing compared to hubby, since he owns 3 cars. Of which he is not intending to sell any...Ah well, they hardly cost anything, so let him play and have his way, I say. ;)

I finished 3 LO's from the Scrap-a-Ganza, the first one was from Teresa Collins' class. I wanted to state something with the text which was: Life isn't about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself. The pics had to black and white so I didn't have that much choice. But I decided to go with a (beautiful!!!) pic of my mom when she was younger, like 15 or 18 (dunno exactly, but I can't ask her anymore...) (she was stunning though...) and pics of her family. Meaning, the life she created for herself, and the person she wanted to be. A wife, a mom of 2 kids, a dog-owner even. Love is all that matters in the end, I guess. The picture all the way up, above my text, is ofcourse the one of my mom, so intens, looking so mature and wise beyond her years. Here are the pics of the LO, starting with the left side of the page, followed by the right side of the page, and a little close-up:

Further more I finished another S-a-G LO, I added some adorable pics of my brother playing with my dad's doggies on that one. (And sometimes I am really proud of my photography skills!!! ) On the pic at the bottom of the page he has a chippie in his mouth, and that particular dog is crazy about food so she etas from his mouth, eventhough she's scared of my brother! I made the title into something funny, Alex is doing it doggie style. Here it is:

Last but not least I finished the LO from Vicky Boutin's S-a-G class. I loved the foiling technique she taught us very much. Did some doodling on it but I hated the result, so instead I foiled all the edges of the papers. (I hate it when you do something and wreck your page!!! Thank God scrapping is about embellishments, there's always something lying around to cover up your screw-ups, teehee...) I went overboard with the foiling and did some doodle-foiling which was hideous as well. So, underneath the 4-layer-flower, there's a mess... ;) (I can't say it enough: Thank God for embellishments!!!)

Since the LO was fun, fresh, sparkly, and love-themed, I added pics of my father-in-law frolicing around with his grandkids. The grandkids he didn't even know until recently, of the daughter he didn't even get to see again until recently. After more than 20 years!!! Seeing him so happy and carefree, thoroughly enjoying the role of being a granddad, makes my heart smile. Especially knowing the story behind all of this...Here it is:

Well, for now, that's all folks!!! I am going to go and enjoy my day-off some more. ;) I am still in my PJ's, I may continue on my scrap-project today. Working on acrylic plates for the first time, that's fun for a change! Hoping I will get rid of my cold soon, as I have a busy weekend ahead. With 2 birthdays and a family-day from hubby's side of the family. Already bought pressies for the birthdays, we have a new store in town where you just buy anything and everything and it all costs nothing! They even have some cute scrapping-supplies!

Hope you have a nice, creative, loving and sunny weekend!!! Till next time!!!

Scrap-a-Ganza

2008-06-08T02:21:00.000-07:00

Hey there all you blog-readers, here's another post from me!

Yesterday my friend Monique and I went to the (Dutch) Scrap-a-Ganza, in Noordwijkerhout. We had planned to go by train and bus, since we had these really cheap traintickets and neither of us is fond of driving long distances in unknown territory. :P However, since a few months the bus chauffeurs are on strike, demanding a better salary or who knows what. I get that they have to protest, but it affects US (we're innocent!) instead of the ones who are paying their salary...

So, after careful consideration, I decided to drive to Noordwijkerhout myself. Hubby arranged a GPS for me from his sista, that was one less thing to worry about. (Because I was dreading the drive overthere, I swear...!) One more benefit of this was the lenght of the travel, this saved us one and a half hour!!! Which meant we could stay in bed a little longer, otherwise we would have had to have taken the 6.30 train...Damn...

So, at 8 o' clock yesterdaymorning, my friend arrived. We had a little last-minute-stress because she had printed her invoice and I hadn't. I hadn't read anywhere that you needed to do that, but I thought the whole thing was vague anyway. So I tried to write down some things, but, ofcourse, couldn't remember my password. I gave up and just assumed all would go well once I was there.

Our journey went well thanx to TomTom (The GPS), except for a little bit at the end. TomTom was kinda slow and said I should go into some road a few more km ahead. Turned out I should have taken the road I passed at that point. Fortunately we could turn around after a few kilometres again, and all went well. My friend talked to me lots, I listened most of the time, hehehe, and the trip went by quickly that way.

We arrived at the hotel at about 10.30, so we had some time left before our first workshop which started at 11.30. They should have put up more signs in my opinion, where to get your coupons, lunch, where to do your make and takes, etc. They weren't all that well organised I think. We collected an envelope with our coupons and received the cutest goodie bag. The bag was from Fancy Pants and was the perfect size for scrap-papers. It had sweet colors and was just lovable. The contents varied per bag, but mostly it was old crap... There were dated papers in there and I didn't have any embellishments where as my friend did. But hey, any free gift is welcome! Here's a pic featuring the bag:We shopped a little (or a lot, in my case...) and I bought some things I had wanted and hoped to find there. The shops were in a big round room and eventhough there were just about 11 booths, you could spend your cash very well in there!!! I bought Grungeboard by Tim Holtz (Alpha's and Elements) Thickers, velvety flowers, lace ribbons, stamps, buttons, noteworthy journaling books, etc. Here's a pic of my shopping result at the end of the day (and I haven't even added a paper-storage box, plastic plates and a cutting-tool to the pic!):So, at 11.30-ish we went to our first workshops, my friend and I had different ones. I went to a class by Vicky Boutin, Bling n Thingz. Vicky was a nice teacher and funny as well. She gave away some stuff by picking out the names of the class from a bag. I liked what we did there. We made a 2 page LO, stamped some swirls and stuff on it, and we played with chipboard shapes, tacky glue, foil and glitter. It was a fun technique, messy though. We had to dip our fingers inside the little glue bottle and smear the glue all over our chipboard. And with a special cap on the glue bottle we could highlight some areas of our stamped stuff. The key was to let the glue dry until it was tacky, not wet! Once it had done that we put the foil on top, and took it off again. It had very nice results!!! And the bits where the foil wouldn't stay, we glittered them.

The silly thing is, I have that foil at home, and it's ancient!!! My mom had already bought that years and years ago, including some glue pens to go with it, with a broad point so you could even calligraph with it! Guess what I will be doing from now on as well when I scrap...?! I posted 2 pics of the LO's I did there. Almost finished anyway...The hour went by quickly, most of us weren't even finished, but my friend came to tell me that if we wanted to have lunch we could only do that until 1 o' clock. So we went off to have lunch. My friend enjoyed her workshop very much, the colors, paper and style were perfect for her. We had lunch, which was simple, but okay. Sandwhiches with ham or cheese and some veggies on it, some sort of soup, and all sorts of hot and colds drinks. You could drink anything you liked all day long for free. Here we are in the lunch-room of the hotel:

After our lunch it was already time for our next class, which was at 1.30. This was a class by Teresa Collins, featuring her Bella Girl Paper. I think it was called A moment in time. Teresa was extremely nice and a perfectionist. She told us she had 9 kids!!! She gave birth to "only" 5 of them, but still...I loved the papers, I already had some of them at home. She had some mini-books with her which were great as well. It was a good class and Teresa did a great job.

After this class we had some more time, so we sat down, drank some, ate some, and shopped some more. Well, I did...The bags were getting heavier and heavier...Man...But I enjoyed myself very well. :)

After a while we decided to go to our next class, which was at 4.30. It was a class featuring the new Making Memories Noteworthy paper line, by a woman named Jeanny. The class was swamped!!! There were 9 rows of tables, each of them consisiting of 8 or 9 persons or so. I liked the papers and colors, my friend didn't. She had looked on the internet, but hadn't seen it was this sweet and pink. She's not a girly girl in that sense. I am. It was messy and Jeanny just let us do our thing, or so it seemed. This is one page I managed to put together, half-finished:

We had to make tags in the tagmaker and in the mean time Jeanny did a raffle. She just picked rownumbers, and then another number. And what do you know, she even picked my seat!!!!! I won a summer set of Making Memories, consisting of foam stamps, letter stickers, velvet words, chipboard accents and metal accents, all with a summer theme. Not totally my thing, but I loved being picked and I am sure I can do something with my thingies!!! This is what I won:

With almost every class there was a bonus included, something we didn't use in that class but the company just threw in for free. This is what we ended up with as bonusses:

So, after all these classes we still hadn't done any make and takes. To our discontent the make and takes weren't gonna start until 7 o'clock again. Honestly, I had kinda had it, I was pooped. With the driving, and the watching and learning, dragging our stuff. We sat down and drank some and decided to go anyway, I still had to drive for 2 hours, so.

At 6.30 we loaded up the trunk of my car, and headed home. On the way we stopped at the well-known "Golden Arches" to eat some french fries and chicken nuggets and we continued our way home.

At 9 o'clock we were home again, and my friend was being picked up by her hubby shortly afterwards. I showed my stuff to my hubby, sat on the couch for a while and went to bed veeeeery early, because I was really tired!!! I had a great day and maybe next year, or at the end of this year, we will do the S-a-G for a whole weekend, who knows. We liked it lots anyway, so we will go there again.

Have a nice weekend, see ya!!!

Queen of my heart

2008-05-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been in a scrap-mood, probably because the hormones are the right ones for sparking my creativity again...:P I can even get bummed when it's beautiful weather outside then, because then it's too hot in the attic and people will think I am crazy for sitting in my stuffy attic creating paper-thingies instead of catching sun.

But, in my defence, our backyard is a MESS! And it has been for 6 months already. I am not exaggerating, really! We just have a huge sandbox where there used to be tiles. :( It sux and I am getting tired of all the sand around the house, but somehow there isn't any progress there. *Sigh*

I rearranged my attic scrap space, but I am not yet content about it. My desk (former dining table actually, but since it was splattered with glue, stains from wine, and the wood was cracked up, I thought it would serve me better...Hehehe...) was waaaay too stuffed, I barely had space to scrap there! It's because I want to keep cute, new and inspirational things near at hand, afraid I am forgetting about them otherwise.

But I stocked most of those things on a huge open shelve-closet. (I have no clue what the word is, sorry...) But it divides my attic in 2 halves now, a dark and light half to be more specific. And if I have friends over to scrap I won't be able to see them, because the picnic-table is on the other side. The dark side. ;) So that's no fun.

But...if I have to move my desk in front of the windows, I have another problem. I have shelves on top of my desk where I have stored several more items. If the desk is to be put in front of the window, I won't be able to use those shelves anymore, I have to take them off I suppose. Otherwise the windows will be cluttered with stuff, thus blocking the much-needed-light. Thus preventing me from opening the windows. It may seem an overrated deal, but I hear fresh air is good for ya. =) So there's some thinking to be done I guess...

My brother was over at my house the other day and he likes the LO I did on our mom. She passed away 2 years ago and I did an LO containing the lyrics of "our" song. "My Immortal", by Evanescence. That is the song that I picked to be played at her funeral, amongst other songs picked by my dad and brother. My brother asked me to make a LO for him, with the lyrics of the song he picked for mom then. "A song for mama", by Boyz II Men. I was honoured he wanted me do that and somehow making that LO came easy to me.

At first I wasn't happy about the endresult, it was like it had to grow on me. Maybe it's because I had to use brown in it, and cream, and I barely use those colors myself. But my brother has brown and cream in his house, so I didn't want it to clash. After a while I got used to it and even didn't want to part with it anymore.

As a title I used a sentence from the lyrics, which I thought to be appropriate. "Queen of my heart". Because I know that, to him, she was all that, and more. He put her on a pedestool. The rest of the lyrics read like they could have been written by my brother himself. His life wasn't easy as well, but she was always there for him, when the world let him down. Magical how someone else's words can express what you can't...

I'll leave you with a few pics of the LO here, wishing you a creative evening, in every thinkable way. Remember, live your dreams, don't dream your life. You never know when your number is up...

Getting published in "Creatief met Foto's"...!!!

2008-05-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

So, here's the second update of my much-read blog...NOT...;)

I am not sure whether I mentioned in my first blog that some of my work has been published...?!

I am just your average scrapper, nothing special, but I thought I would give it a try and send pictures of a mini booklet I made, to a Dutch Scrapmagazine called "Creatief met Foto's". The picture shows the issue I am referring to. =)

Yet, I was either talented or simply lucky enough to be picked!!! Lucky enough to have used that line of paper, too. I guess. I used Pirate Princess by Rusty Pickle, which was girly, yet tough. Lots of pink and black. Love those colors! I was kinda pleased with the result of my booklet, especially the exterior. The "back" of the booklet was decorated with pink ribbon weaved through eyelets, corset-like. Pirate-girly-like...

I felt so proud, special and appreciated. Something I had made with my bare hands was going to be published! "I" was going to be available in most bookstores and scrapstores! How exciting is that!!! ( I even cried out of happiness, how cheesy am I...!?)

Anyway, after a long process of emailing back and forth, I sent my booklet over to their store, and they took pictures of the whole thing. I wrote a little text as well, about myself, the booklet, the paper, etc. The rest of the text was made up or even embellished ( so to speak...) and approved by me after another telephonecall.
So, finally, the April/May issue hit my floormat. And it was surreal seeing pages I had created myself inside the magazine I usually turn to for inspiration. It still hasn't hit me, because I know those pages well, they're mine, so seeing them in a magazine, is like seeing them in reallife, I guess. The article turned out great, the pictures they took of my pages were beautiful and fun. The writing was good, not too extended, but still honest.

The booklet was about my 30th birthday (26 September 2007) which was a big deal for me. I had gone through an extremely rough time after losing my mom March 2005 and I was geting myself together again, finally. So, to close off that period of time, and begin a new era, a celebration amongst loved ones, family and friends, seemed the right thing to do. After all, you never know how much longer you'll have. There may not even be a tomorrow...
So seize the day,

I say! ;)

Here I am!

2008-05-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my blog! Perhaps we have met, perhaps we never will. Perhaps you're just reading this because I sent you an e-mail regarding this blog ;) Just for the record I'll tell you a little something about myself, and please, feel free to do the same!

I'm a 30 year old female who lives in The Netherlands. I am married to Pascal for almost 3 years. Like many women I looooove chocolate, eventhough I know it's bad for my figure. I like music, mostly rock, and 30 seconds to Mars is a big favorite of mine. That might have something to do with their lead-singer, Jared Leto. DAMN! That man has the most gorgeous blue eyes in the freaking universe!!!!
Besides drooling over him, I scrap too, sometimes. Like all you scrappers out there, I looooove to buy the stash needed. And somehow I never have enough, or that one little, new, fun item, prohibits me from making a new page/project. Because I simply can't scrap without it....LOL...:P

Anyhow, I started this blog to write about my scrap adventures. To share the links that give me my scrap inspiration. To share pictures and stories, and who knows, maybe we can even cook up a challenge together?

Let me explain why I call this blog Less is Bore! You know the saying less is more, don't you? In some commercial I heard them say: "less is bore!" That describes ME!!!
I have always been the decorative kind of girl, it's never enough. I love jewellery and there have been times I have been referred to as a christmas tree, haha. A teacher even said to me once:"You are wearing more iron than a knight in the armour time!"
So, I have about 130 necklaces, 150 bracelets, 66 pairs of shoes and boots, over 50 pairs of earrings, 30 bags, and those are just my accessories...!!! :O I have waaaay too many clothes, and waaaaay to many little thingies around the house. I have over 250 dragon items as well. I am a collector, I suppose. I can't throw out any stuff, regardless of what it is. Anything might come in handy one day, you never know.

In regard to scrapbooking I am also the less-is-bore-type. I embellish a lot. I love the way Elsie Flannigan scraps, so freestyle, funky, and happy. But I am too coordinated to accomplish that. I seriously hope that some day I can let go of my inhibitions and just scrap with whatever materials and colors I like! So until this day I think my style is more shabby chic. What's yours?

My favorite scrapping goods are paper (DUH!), felt-borders, brads, buttons, ribbons, flowers and clear-stamps. I used to use many tags and foam stamps in combination with paint, but right now I am into the journaling panels/stamps. I love that scrapbooking changes along with the seasons/clothing/home decorations, but it leaves me with a huge stash of papers I am probably never going to use anymore.

So, for now, that's it. I just got a parcel which I have been awaiting for a long time! Time to look at my goodies, unwrap them, and tuck them neatly away. (How about organizing, I keep reorganizing things, I am a organize-freak!) And maybe I'll even play with them, because I could't scrap without them before...But now, all is well, and my stash is complete...Yeah, right. In your dreams!!!

Don't worry, be scrappy!