*~Feeling Sketchy - World Card Making Special Challenge!!~*

Hi there My Dear Arty Scrappy Friends!

Today I would like to share with you my mixed media card created especially for the World Card Making Special Challenge back at our very cool card blog Feeling Sketchy


This is the beautiful fall colors to inspire you...

 

  Please do come and visit us at Feeling Sketchy and play along with this lovely challenge.

There are great prizes to be won from our sponsor Jiggery Makery.

You can find them on Facebook under Jiggery Makery

 Here is my card created for this challenge...

I had lots of fun creating this, played with Gesso, stencils, stamps, inks, mists,

chipboard, embossing, pretty flowers & gorgeous papers.

I think I found my calling. ;-) ♥

 Some close ups...

Remember to play along with us at Let's Scrap Sketches too, we have some BEAUTIFUL sketches to use for making your memories last forever and we are also running a Card Challenge there at the moment.

 Thank you for visiting me here on my blog and I hope you enjoyed this card as much as I enjoyed creating it with love.

Have a Fantastic Day!

Hugs

*~Erica~*

Let' Scrap Sketch 10-15-15 ~ *Hartlief*

Hi there to All my Dear Arty Scrappy friends, I hope you are doing well today.

 For this week's Let's Scrap Sketch 10-15-15 I created this layout of my dear girls when they were small. I just LOVE Scrapbooking!!! To be able to cherise these memories, relive these super special times spent with our dearest babies!  These photos reminded me of a favourite Afrikaans childhood song I used to sing a lot... My Hartjie, My Liefie.

For my journaling, I wrote only a shortened version of this song...

 


It is a traditional song and here is the lyrics:

"MY HARTJIE, MY LIEFIE

My hartjie, my liefie, die son sak weg,
die son sak weg, die son sak weg.
My hartjie, my liefie, die son sak weg
daar onder by die blou berge.

[REFREIN]
En ek wil, ek wil, ek wil na die nooi'ntjie gaan vry;
Sy is so mooi en so liefies vir my.
En ek wil, ek wil, ek wil na die nooi'ntjie gaan vry;
daar onder by die blou berge.

My hartjie, my liefie, die maan kom op,
die maan kom op, die maan kom op.
My hartjie, my liefie, die maan kom op
daar onder by die blou berge.

[REFREIN]
En ek wil, ek wil, ek wil na die nooi'ntjie gaan vry;
Sy is so mooi en so liefies vir my.
En ek wil, ek wil, ek wil na die nooi'ntjie gaan vry;
daar onder by die blou berge.

My hartjie, my liefie, die maan sak weg,
die maan sak weg, die maan sak weg.
My hartjie, my liefie, die maan sak weg
daar onder by die blou berge.

[REFREIN]
En ek wil, ek wil, ek wil na die nooi'ntjie gaan vry;
Sy is so mooi en so liefies vir my.
En ek wil, ek wil, ek wil na die nooi'ntjie gaan vry;
daar onder by die blou berge."

Here is a link to a YouTube video by Valiant Swart, a popular Afrikaans singer... Note that it is audio only with only a blank screen.

http://youtu.be/VxzQfhub3GQ

Well...

It is not all that easy to translate, but the whole idea is that this guy is singing of his beautiful and sweet girlfriend, whom he is madly in love with and cannot wait to see her and kiss her and make out with her... {in a sweet & innocent way :-)}

My Heart, My Love {or rather Lovie}My heart, my love, the sun sets,
the sun sets, the sun sets.

My heart, my love, the sun sets
among the blue mountains.

[CHORUS] 
And I want, I want, I want to "make out with my girl";  {the much easier word in Afrikaans is "vry" ;-)}
She is so beautiful and so sweet to me.
And I want, I want, I want to "make out with my girl";
among the blue mountains.My heart, my love, the moon rises,the moon rises,
the moon rises.
My heart, my love, the moon rises 
among the blue mountains."

So, the title of my page is "HartLief" which means Heart Love...

This is the awesome sketch designed by Michelle van Wyk...

 

*My Hartjie, My Liefie*

I used the Kaisercraft Collection called "On this Day"...

Absolutely in love with all the beautiful Kaisercraft Collections!!!

I just love the pattern on the black paper called: "Mr & Mrs".

I used it to also create the halfround flags punched with a round punch and then cut in half,
using foam squares to lift them slightly.

The title was made with Tim Holtz letters with some Distress Inking and a dash of Diamond Stickles {yes, it came out very greenish!?}

The air balloons have been printed directly onto the paper...

I bought the air balloon printables here at the Ideas Market Store for R15...

www.ideasmarket.co.za

You will see some awesome printables over there!
*Ideas* is a local South African magazine with some awesome *Ideas* which I love!

Just something interesting...
 I see that the Ideas magazine translated "My Hartjie, My Liefie" to "Be Mine, My Love"...
I translated it directly: "My Hartjie" literally meaning My Heart... Hartjie being a petting word for a loved one in Afrikaans ~ don't you just LOVE languages!?
I LOVE my Mother tongue Afrikaans!! ♥♥

Anyway... back to the layout...

The smaller air balloon on the left is the same as the larger one, but I cut a circle from the white inked paper, using foam squares to lift it and make it stand out.  I used a rub on over it to make it more interesting.  I edited the two air balloons in Word as I wanted it, before printing.

I did quite a lot of stenciling with Gesso and also stamping and inking techniques....

The inking is done on a craft sheet: rub some Distress Ink of your choice over your craft sheet, spray with water and then put a piece of strong white cardstock {most suitable for technique inking} over the ink... do not rub the paper over the ink... then carefully pull it up , giving it an awesome inking effect.  Off cause, let it dry before using. :-)

The circle on the left and 2 flags on the right has been done this way.

After the piece of paper is dry, I cut out what I want.  The leftovers are kept if I can use it with a card or somewhere else later on.  It can be "glittered" or sprayed with water for a cute "bubbly" effect, stenciled, stamped on or inked again... so many possibilities.

Some more Gesso, stenciling, inking and rub ons used over here...

The black ribbon is a lovely plastic type of adhesive "ribbon" I bought a few years ago.

Well, there is nothing left now and I do not know where to find some again as I really love using it. :-(

Thank you so much for looking and visiting me here on my blog!!!!!!  Please do come and visit again and we can have some tea & cake together!! ;-)

Remember to come and play along at Let's Scrap every 1st and every 15th of each month.  

As part of the Design Team, I will definitely visit you at your blog to leave some love for all your gorgeous creations!!

 ALSO remember about our other blog Feeling Sketchy where we creat beautiful cards, and it also works the same as Let's Scrap... every 1st & 15th... so come on over...

I can't wait to see what you create!!

Have a Fabulous Thursday!

*~Hugs~*

Erica

*~Feeling Sketchy #131~* Happy

Good Morning My Dear Arty Scrappy & Cardmaking Friends!

Well, just look at this GORGEOUS Card Sketch!!

 So many possibilities...

This is my card created for the Design Team back at Feeling Sketchy. 

It is Card Sketch #131 and my card is called:

*Happy* 

 

*Happy*

 

I used the leftovers of the Bo Bunny Collection: Star Crossed
which I created my previous Let's Scrap DT layout *Artistry* with...
You will find it here...
link to *Artistry*

I rather enjoy using leftovers from pretty papers to make cards...
no better way to do it and to use up some scraps.

It seems rather sad to use all brand new papers which can FIRST & FOREMOST be used for a scrapbook layout, don't you think?!? :-D


Here is another view of the card...

Don't you just love the Frog Family in my garden???  They are surely adorable!! ;-)

So please do hop on over to the Feeling Sketchy blog and come and join in all the fun we are having over there... the great thing about making cards, is that you will always have lovely & special cards to give to your loved ones!  It can't get any more special than a handmade card made with love. ♥♥♥

Thank you for visiting and I hope my card makes you feel inspired today!

Have a Beautiful Awesome Wonderful Day!!

Hugs

*~Erica~*

*~Feeling Sketchy #130~* Celebration

Good Morning My Dear Arty Scrappy Friends!

I am so very happy to say that I have been chosen to be part of the Feeling Sketchy Design Team!! I am quite new to being on a Card Design Team and am very excited to broaden my horizons and have this FANTASTIC opportunity to be part of this wonderful team!!

 Thank you Cathy van de Bruinhorst & Valerie Thorpe!

I would also like to say congratulations to my fellow DT Members, I am so looking forward to working with you and enjoying your beautiful creations!

So today is our very first day on the DT and this is my first card designed for the term!

Here is the fabulous Feeling Sketchy DT sketch we had the opportunity to work with designed by the ever so talented Michelle van Wyk...





 My card:

*Celebration*

From a few different angles...

 

 



And some close ups...

 

 

From the back...

 Thank you so much for looking, I surely hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed creating this card with much LOVE!!

Remember to join us at Feeling Sketchy and play along with this amazing sketch!

Have a Wonderful Day!! ♥

*~Hugs~*

Erica

*Artistry* ~ Let's Scrap Sketch 10-1-15

Well, Hello there My Dear Arty Scrappy Friends!

It is so nice to see you again!

I'm so sorry that my blog post has been a bit "late" today, after the reveal on the Let's Scrap blog...

we have been out doing our last minute shopping for my DD#1's Matric Dance tomorrow night...

so there are MUCH excitement going on in our house at the moment!!   :-D

This week I would like to share with you my Design Team layout for the Let's Scrap Sketch #10-1-15... *Artistry*.

As any Mom, I think my kids are BEAUTIFUL AND AWESOME AND AMAZING AND all the WONDERFUL things they can be, so I am no different!!!  My DD#1 just looked so beautiful to me in these natural and spontaneous photos, we went out for the day and she decided to wear red lipstick and she looked AMAZING and so PERFECT!!  And yet again, I realized how blessed I am to be her Mom and what a FANTASTIC Artist God is for "designing" our beautiful children and blessing us with them. ♥♥♥

 *Artistry*

 I used the Bo Bunny range: Star-Crossed.  It was totally perfect for the idea I had.

And here is some close ups of the layout...

I used thick white porous cardstock to make the stars by applying some red and black Distress Inks onto my craft sheet, spraying it with water and then putting the paper onto the ink without "rubbing".  After it has dried, I used some silver ink to spray over it.

I also used silver Stickles for the stars on the circles.

I do believe that it is VERY VERY important to use your own handwriting, so that one day, this very special handwriting, belonging to only one person in the whole wide world,

can be remembered forever.

I still have a few things with my Dear Grandmother Jopie's handwriting on and imagine her fingers holding the pen and writing the way only she could.

How special is that???

 

 Thank you so much for looking & I surely hope you visit again soon!!

The fabulous Let's Scrap Sketches are published every 1st and 15th of the month,

so do come and play with us,

there are some FANTASTIC prizes up for grabs from our awesome sponsors!

Have a Great Day!!

Hugs

*~Erica~*

*~Let's Scrap Sketch #9-15-15~* Undefined

Good Morning to All my Arty Scrappy Friends

I surely hope that you are doing well today!  I am doing fabulous as Spring is here, the sun is shining beautifully, we had some lovely rain, our garden is green and the birds are singing cheerfully, what can be better than nature at it's best???

Today I would like to share with you my DT work at Let's Scrap this week...
called:
*Undefined*.

The dictionary's definition for Undefined, is the following:

1.

without fixed limits; indefinite in form, extent, or application:

undefined authority; undefined feelings of sadness.

2.

not given meaning or significance, as by a definition; not defined or explained:

an undefined term.

It is a sensitive topic to me... but the fact remains that we all go through a lot of trials and tribulations throughout our lifetime, and I have been no different to any other human on this earth...  I have had more than my fair share. Living life is not always moonshine and roses {we wish!!}. We go through difficult times and hardships.  But... LIFE IS STILL AMAZING!!!

 This quote describes LIFE so beautifully:

Well, life is just not always easy or enjoyable or amazing.

I do know that I will never be defined.  I will never understand.  I will never know why I am me.  I just know that I have been put on earth for a reason and that I do not always know what that reason is, but God has a plan with me which only I can fulfill.

The whole idea is that the things we have gone through, should not define us.  I am kind of a free spirit.  Have always had problems fitting in and by now realized IT IS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN, which is just FINE with me. It actually makes me VERY HAPPY to know that I am on this journey and I alone can be who I am.

These lyrics of the Alanis Morrissette song {she is my most FAVOURITE female artist of all time!}: "Hand In My Pocket", always makes me smile.  It reminds me that I am OKAY being me.  That I am only human and just as long as I am trying my best, I am okay with that.  The most important thing to me, is that God knows my heart, He sees me for me and He knows I am doing the best I can.

And that is just fine fine fine!

And... I will NEVER EVER have it all figured out!?!

Here is the lyrics to this amazing song which I journaled about at the back of my layout:

But... I cannot relate to all of these elements... eg. I am tall, not all that young anymore, hate smoking & definitely not very sane most of the time, but you get the idea!? ;-)

"Hand In My Pocket"
Alanis Morrissette



"I'm broke but I'm happy

I'm poor but I'm kind
I'm short but I'm healthy, yeah
I'm high but I'm grounded
I'm sane but I'm overwhelmed
I'm lost but I'm hopeful baby
What it all comes down to
Is that everything's gonna be fine fine fine
'cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is giving a high five
I feel drunk but I'm sober
I'm young and I'm underpaid
I'm tired but I'm working, yeah
I care but I'm restless
I'm here but I'm really gone
I'm wrong and I'm sorry baby

What it all comes down to
Is that everything's gonna be quite alright
'cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is flicking a cigarette
And what it all comes down to
Is that I haven't got it all figured out just yet
'cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is giving the peace sign
I'm free but I'm focused
I'm green but I'm wise
I'm hard but I'm friendly baby
I'm sad but I'm laughing
I'm brave but I'm chickensh*t
I'm sick but I'm pretty baby

And what it all boils down to
Is that no one's really got it figured out just yet
'cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is playing the piano
And what it all comes down to my friends
Is that everything's just fine fine fine
'cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is hailing a taxi cab."

I totally love the harmonica in this song!!!!!  One of my favourite parts of the music... I had a little harmonica when I was a child, playing it until the keys started falling out... Made up songs by the dozens... ;-)

This is the fab Let's Scrap Sketch...

#9-15-15

 

And this is my layout:

*Undefined*

Some close ups...

Keys are symbols of opening and closing.  Keys and locks go together like milk and cookies.

To me this key without lock represents my freedom in being me.

 The 3 tickets: Dream, Hope & Soar.... has been punched... this means that these tickets have been used... I have Dreamed {big time!}, I have experienced Hope....  I have Soared like an Eagle high up in the sky.  {And I surely believe I will again!}
And yes, I am an absolutely hopeless Dreamer.

You will see that a lot of the papers are torn, folded and distressed... to me this means all the things in my life that has been lost and painful.  Thus, it is all messy.  Nothing's perfect.

The butterfly right at the top has been fussy cut to fit over the card.
Hope.

I used some Tim Holtz letter stickers for the title and the "E" is the only one in red...
"E" for my name.

Do you notice the butterfly on my nose?  The story behind this is: when my DD#2 was younger, she used to catch butterflies in the garden and make them a lovely "fairytale" home in our old fish tank... That is how this pretty little butterfly landed on my nose... :-)

Which makes this so very special to me, is that I read that the butterfly is a symbol of the soul.

"Butterflies are the power of air, the ability to float upon a breeze. It represents the never-ending cycle of life and self-transformation.  Butterflies appear to dance as they flitter among the flowers. They remind us not to take things so seriously within our lives. They awaken a sense of lightness and joy. They remind us to get up and move, for if you do not move, you cannot dance.

Butterflies bring color and joy with them.  The butterfly will teach you that growth and change do not have to be traumatic. Change can occur as gently and as joyfully as one wishes."

{www.pure-spirit.com}

I Photoshopped the photo as I liked the artistic feel to it...  The photo was taken by one of the very first iPhones I owned a few years back and the quality is not all that good, but I do like how it turned out.  To me, it's not the most "perfect photo" but the most "perfect moment" that counts.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post... please do follow my blog, you will see the Follow button in the right column...

 And do please hop on over to our Let's Scrap Sketches blog, have some fun & play along...
I can't wait to see what you create!! :-)

Well, now that you know all my deepest, darkest secrets, I hope you enjoyed the layout about my Undefinity. {Is that a word???} ;-)

 

Have a Fantastic Day!!

Hugs

~*Erica~*