RAK

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

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

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

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 walked 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

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...

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. Sort of...

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, and 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...

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! 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...

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. 

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