I did a little Exploring today...

Picture of Stellenbosch-taken from Here

So based on what The first prompt for the challenge is: Explore, I thought I would share a little something with you all. (by the way you are all very quiet! I will take that as a good thing and hope it is because you are all off madly creating - paint flying everywhere, glue on the end of your nose-the works!)

I mentioned in a previous post that for me, one of my words for 2007
is the word "EXPLORE". It sum's up a vast array of thing's for me.

With that word I literally mean to explore the world around me. I want to learn new thing's, read more books, go to different places, explore my own beautiful town and surroundings. I promised myself that the first day the children started school again this year I would do that. I stuck to my own promise. Today, after dropping them off at school, I set out for the nearby town of Stellenbosch. I adore this town.

Nestled in the valley at the foot of a mountain range, surrounded by rolling hills and wine farms, this is not only a beautiful town, but one filled with fascination and character. It is the second oldest town in South Africa founded in 1679. For a brief background on the history visit this site.


(My own photo)

The university of Stellenbosch is a very large and popular one, so the town has come to be known as a "student town". It has a busy night life, friends meeting for drinks or to listen to a local jazz band. Most of the students work in the town to support themselves when not studying, so a lot of them waiter. The town is packed with coffee shops, restaurants, little ric-rac shops, vintage shops, bohemian shops, bookshops, second hand shops. Just about anything quaint, old, hippie, modern, charming. You will find it all there.

The pavements are cobbled or paved. Oak trees line the streets protectively. Tables scatter the pavements and are laid with brightly colored hand painted table cloths, polka dotted or prettily laid with finely rose-littered vintage-styled cloths.

Paintings, rustic looking frames, bags, beaded jewelry, and all other kinds of fascinating goodies spill out from the shops onto the pavements, seducing your eyes and causing you to wander in to these little delightful little nooks and crannies, over flowing with "eye candy".

Some of the MANY photos I took today! To see more go to my Flickr pageand click on the set that says "home and cards"-go see what I explored today!



This is a place to feed your soul. I parked and walked the streets, taking photo's, visiting the shop's, buying goodies here and there. On my own, enjoying the sunshine through slanting through the oak trees, hearing the gentle rush of water through the channels at the side of the streets.

I was exploring, discovering, finding.

I picked up some goodies for Karitoday too, as we are doing a
"goodie swap". I hope she likes them!


Kari-there is more in it, but I couldn't fit it in all in the photo, so took some stuff out! Lot's of vintage ribbons and lace in a packet hidden there too, and a little silk sachet filled with all sorts of buttons etc for your journals.

I hope you are enjoying whatever Exploring you are doing! Can't wait to see your pages!

Welcome to Day one!!

Credits photo: Michelle Bono-found on Webshots   The Road not taken-Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveller, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.   Theme: Explore Definition: To Investigate, to search into,to examine. To travel in a region that is unknown or not well known, in order to find out more about it.   Stoke your imagination with the fire of curiosity of the unknown. Let it lead you down a path You feared to tread. Take the road less travelled. Do not be afraid-Be BOLD, be ADVENTUROUS, Be SPONTANEOUS. Don't look back and say, "If only".   Explore your feelings on this word "Explore". What does it mean to you? What does it invoke in you? Let your mind take you on a journey. Listen to what your heart is Telling you. What do you want to explore more of in your life? Nature? Books? Art? Yourself? Relationships? Let the thoughts come to you..close your eyes...imagine.... Go explore these: Bailey's Bliss Moss Hill Ihanna-book of dreams Free vintage art Chrysti Blog Chrysti on flickr   Now go CREATE!! Remember to post your links HERE before Sunday the 21st. On Sunday Kari will be Hosting the Day two of the Challenge on her blog. Note: There will be a total of 8 prompts, 2 per week, for 4 weeks.

Cabinet of Natural Curiosities Challenge clarifications

Whew! Lot's Of "C's" in that title!!

Some have wanted to or have signed up and they don't have a blog.
That is fine! If you can link us to your work that would be great.
You can get a free account at a hosting server like Photobucket, Flickr, Putfile.
You could even send us a link to a gallery to show us your stuff. Some sites like
Busybee Scrapbooking are for paper scrapers/arty stuff too. You just need to sign up (for free).

Points again just for clarification:
Both Kari and myself are hosting the challenges. I will be hosting it on Thursdays starting the 18th. Kari on Sundays.
You need to post your links to your work on the relevant blog hosting the challenge for the day. Say I am hosting it on Thursday, ALL participating link here. Then Sunday ALL participating, including me, link at Kari's blog.

The Challenge is called "Cabinet of Natural Curiosities",
How you to choose to interrupt this is up to you. It doesn't necessarily have to be about or revolve around nature itself. You should take each challenge as it comes and do what you feel it means to you.

I hope this helps!

One more day!!!!
Scroll down to see Details about the challenge.

Still two days to sign up!

There is still today -well by me it Tuesday already, and Wednesday to sign up for the challenge. Hoping you'll join us...

I got these cute little birds as an anniversary gift I think first or second one. I adore them.

to see them individualy and close up go here:
My Flick page

I am so in love with old vintage pictures at the moment, and found some really great one, such as this:


This is my own mother. It looks "vintage" but it was only in the late 1940's early 1950's that this photo was taken! I still have that brooch she is wearing.One of the few things I have of her's. If you are reading this for the first time, she passed away when I was two. See this post



bye!

Challenge starting soon!

Okay so Kari and I have teamed up together to host a challenge for you. It's going to be similar to the challenges Rhonna used to be, but of course our twist and take of it and original! You can do this if you are a digital scrapper, paper scrapper, if you paint, draw, doodle. There are no specifications or qualifications! First timers welcome too! Kari and I will be doing the traditional version: real art supplies. I think she is doing an altered book and I will be doing mine in my art journal. So we will be doing it along with you. There are no rules, except to have fun and enjoy the process! What will you need: 1. A book to alter or blank book or 12 x 12 pages and embellishments etc If you want to do it digitally, then your normal digital kits. 2. You need to commit to this, so you have to sign up on my blog or Kari's blog before the 18th January 2007, it starts on the 18th. The details will follow closer to the time, all you need to do is sign up for it, get your gear ready and be ready to start the 18th. This Challenge will be a Hosted on a Thursday and a Sunday to give everyone enough time to complete each challenge.Thursdays will be hosted by me and Sundays by Kari.Post your links at the relevant blog. The Theme of the Challenge will be a mixed one. It will be about delving into yourself. Pushing your limits of creativity, exploring, discovering, nature, wonder, and inspiration. Each day you will be given either a picture, a word, a sentence or even a link to check something out we found. How you interrupt what we give you is up to you. This challenge is about inspiring each other,learning, growing, stepping out your box and just about being CREATIVE. Kari and I will take turns to host the challenge, so you will be posting your links either on my blog or hers depending on who's turn it is to host the challenge for the day. Remember you will need to link to either her or my blog with your link to the day's challenge so everyone can have a look at it and leave comments. You can do it on your blog if you have one, or stick your pictures of what you do on photobucket, flickr or a digital scrap site if you have a gallery at one. Or any other image hosting site. I so look forward to you joining in on the fun, I promise it will be a journey! So sign up after you finish reading this, commit yourself to it and come back on the 18th to begin. Day one will begin here on my blog! Note: I live in South Africa, so depending when I post my challenges, If I do it on the 18th at 4pm , it will be 10am for you. I can't say what time as that is the day my kid's start school again, so just keep checking, it will definitely be on the 18th though! I suggest you check out these amazing sites to give you an idea of what art journaling/altered art is, maybe if you haven't done it before, now is as good a time to start as any. Teesha Moore Karen Michel Tracy Bonkers Mixed Media memoirs Modern Gypsy Check this out on How to make your own journal And these great tips on How to do art journalingif you've never tried it before. sign up before signing out!

Interview with Kari (Artsymama)

I have always been a big fan of anything creative. So, When first I discovered Artsymama's- blog (Kari) a few months ago, I immediately subscribed to the RSS feed for it and check it quite often. I am always amazed at her flair and talent. The reason why I wanted to interview her was to share her talent with more people. I firmly believe that we can all learn from each other. We can be inspired from each other and in that way we enrich our own creativity. Whether you are a paper scrapper, digital scrapper, artist, or simply just like to journal, it is all a form of art of some kind. For those of you who do at least one of these things, you are being creative. You have that side of your brain that is more inclined to being busy with your hands as well as your mind. You feel the NEED to create, it runs through your veins. If you go a few days or weeks without having some sort of creative outlet, you begin to feel an itch, a nagging sense something is not right.

I myself am always looking for inspiration, for new idea's. That is why I love to browse the scrapping/art blog's. I once stumbled across Rhonna Farrers blog, maybe you've heard of her? She is quite a famous Designer. Unfortunately, her lovely blog is not longer in use, but she used to do the "21 day challenge" in which she would set out a challenge for you. Each day she would give you a word or a sentence, a thought, and you had to take that and interpret it into your own idea of what it meant to you. You could do a paper scrap page, a digital one, a card, journal, collage, whatever it was. It was great fun to see all the things that everyone came up with. This inspired me so much and it was when I came across Artsymama's or Kari's blog.So I asked her if she would be so kind as to let me interview her and she said yes! You can read it here: (then go check out her blog!)

INTERVIEW
1.BONNIE: Kari, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Can you tell us a little about yourself? Where you live, are you married? Do you have children?
KARI: I live in Minnesota, am married and have two children (3 year old son and almost 2 year old daughter).

2.BONNIE: What forms of art whether it is painting, scrapping, journals, etc do you do? And when did you start ?
KARI: I do scrap booking, art journals and mixed media or “altered art”. I started doing art on a consistent basis when my son was born. I had so much memorabilia from his early days. I wanted to use those items along with photos and other ephemera in some sort of keepsake book. So I found a photo album that had very thick, cardboard-like pages. I began adding bits of fabric, ribbon, pieces of his blanket, his footprints on vellum and photos printed onto fabric and made him an altered fabric baby book.

3.BONNIE: I see that you do a lot of scrapping or "collaging" in book form. What lead you to this method and how many of these "books" have you done?
KARI: I really like the thought of altering something that is bound for the trash and giving it a new life inspires me! Maybe this stems from sometimes feeling a bit blocked when starting a new project on an empty, white page. With altered books, you always start with either a picture or text or something already on the page and sometimes the context of the book can inspire your artwork within it. I would say that I’ve done about 10 altered books. When I first started I did many “round robins” where a group of artists would each start a book and alter a few pages, then we would send it on to the next person. That artist would then work in it and send it on. When your book arrived back home it was filled with stunning artwork from all around the world! These are great fun to do. I got involved in them through a couple of yahoo groups on altered art.

4.BONNIE: What inspires you to start a project?
KARI: I am a very theme based person, so once I get going on a theme, there’s not much that can stop meJ I have really enjoyed “challenges” found online, mostly on peoples blogs. These help me to create each day and try new techniques that help me to grow as an artist. I find some of my best work was done during some of the challenges I’ve participated in. I also hosted my own Book of Dreams challenge on my blog last year (www.artsymama.blogspot.com). I posted a new altered book technique each week for several months. That was a lot of fun and very inspiring to see everyone’s interpretations.

5.BONNIE:Do you like to journal when you scrap or create a project and do you keep a journal of your life?
KARI:I don’t usually journal separately. I have in the past. I have many, many written and art journals. Lately I’ve enjoyed doing challenges like Rhonna’s 21 day challenge or Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas challenge where we journaled along with creating visual art each day.

6.BONNIE:I see a lot of your images are cut out from magazines. What draws you to a picture in a magazine?
KARI:I have always been a huge magazine addict. For my art I especially love old Anthropologie catalogs. They style of photography, the mood, along with the texture and color of the clothing and surroundings, has always been very inspiring to me. I enjoy finding new color palettes that draw me in when I look at magazines. I especially love home decorating magazines. I just discovered Oilily catalogs and they are pure eye candy!!!

7.BONNIE:What are your favorite accessories or embellishments?
KARI:I go to a lot of estate sales and love to find vintage one-of-a-kind items for my art. I love sewing notions, buttons, fabric, ribbon, flowers, stuff like that!

8.BONNIE:Do you work secularly? Or are you a SAHM?
KARI:I work very part-time as a public librarian, but the majority of my time is spent at home with my kidsJ

9.BONNIE: Are there things in nature, every day life that inspire you?
KARI:I find inspiration all around me all the time. I enjoy organic things found in nature and am inspired by moss, trees, leaves, birds, plants, etc. I am also inspired by very “man made” kitchy items. I guess I have a pretty eclectic taste. I love to decorate my house with things that inspire me. I change my décor often, mainly by the season. I think it’s important to find beauty in the everyday.

10.BONNIE: What is your favorite piece that you have done?


KARI:It was hard to pick one piece. This page was from Rhonna’s first 21 day challenge. This book remains my favorite to this day. I have the rest of my art from this challenge on my flickr pageThis picture really depicts my style. The picture on the left is from an Anthropologie catalog. I love everything about it and wanted to add more. So I sewed on a piece of fabric in the upper right corner that came from a friend in Germany, along with the lace on the bottom. I like to try to use items from around the house in my art instead of always thinking I need to go buy something new. Since I didn’t have a round stamp, to make the circle around her hands I put a dab of paint on the bottom of a glass bottle. On the right page I added a photo of my hands with my daughters, along with my favorite paper of the moment (at the time). I like how it encompasses the old and the new, different types of images and different textures. Totally me!!!



11.BONNIE: How long does it take you from start to finish to do a page?
KARI:I pretty much always do them in less than an hour. I am very limited in how much “art time” I get each day. In order to get a page done, photograph it and put it up on my blog, I work very quickly. I like this style, because then there’s not time to judge it as good or bad, it is what it is for that moment in time.

12.BONNIE: What is your advice to someone looking to start one of these books (I call them "art journals").
KARI:Pick a general color palette or theme or something that inspires you and just get started! Go through your supplies and see what fits. Try new techniques and always keep an open mind. Things will pop into your life that are just perfect for the art you’re working on. Have fun!

13.BONNIE:What do you equipment and attitude do you recommend they have?
KARI:Remain very open-minded. Try not to have an end product in mind. Let it develop naturally. Enjoy the process!!

------------------------------------end-------------------------------

Sharing Cheese cake recepie

It's been a while since we've talked about food. Let's share recipes today or talk about seasonal foods you look forward to at this time of year.

I love to bake! I hate cooking but somehow baking to me, is different. I bake at least once a week and most times get the kids to join in and give them their own cookie dough to use. I think one of my favorite recipies is cheesecake. This one I have is quick and flop-proof and so heavenly!
Here you go! (you gotta try it and let me know! And save me a piece will ya?

Baked cheesecake:
Ingredients:
500ml plain low fat yogurt
2 tubs (500g) smooth cottage cheese or cream cheese
1 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup fresh cream
1 TBS vanilla essence
1 TBS flour (rounded)
2-3 TBS custard powder
3 eggs

Crust:
1 packet tennis biscuits (or whatever you have in your country for a base)
100g butter

Method:
Whip yogurt, cottage cheese, icing sugar, cream together
add dry ingredients
whip up eggs and add to mixture
add vanilla essence

bake at 180 degress celcius (not sure what that is in farenheit!)
for 30-35 minutes (mine always takes about 45-60 min though!)

allow to cool and take out of spring-clip pan.