03 March 2009

BON VOYAGE AND SOME SPECIAL FRIENDS
{Dutch Dare / Sketch Saturday / Arty Girlz / Cute Card Thursday Challenges}
So here is my Design Team project for this week's challenge over at Dutch Dare. The challenge was 'Tropical'. I though that some tropical fish would suffice and scratched out a file with some of my very old templates which were very fashionable some 8 years ago. I got hold of this template with a 'sea' theme and used the tropical fish shape.
Once again to get started with the design, Sketch Saturday gave me an excellent starting point with their fabulous sketch this week. Whilst I was creating, I started brain storming a title and suddenly the thought of a very special friend who is globe trotting one of these days, came to mind (trust she won't click). And so the 'Bon Voyage' sentiment originated. At the same time some great travel stickers in my sticker stash got me going with the collage of stickers on the creation ... I perhaps got a bit carried away, I know.
The Blue and Yellow colour combo probably also qualifies it for this week's challenge at Arty Girlz and the Tropical Fish qualifies it for the Animal Magic theme at Cute Card Thursday. Please hop over to these challenge blogs and have a look at the fab DT creations.
Lots of you have asked me how I got to scrap and here's my story. Recently, I have been corresponding quite a bit with my dear friend Marinda, who I have only seen about 7 years ago. Marinda has emigrated to America. We were huge running friends during the mid to late 1990's and whilst doing a training run at the Garsfontein Run & Walk for Life branch in Pretoria, we hit the topic of photography. Marinda knew that I was a keen photographer and since she has just joined as a consultant with Magic Memories (the company who introduced the scrapbooking industry to South Africa), she suggested that I attended a home scrapping class with her.
Terry, also a very dear running friend of mine who has emigrated to New Zealand about 2 years ago, joined me for the home class at Marinda's home. Marinda showed us how to use templates to draw shapes on the front of our photos with a blue photo labelling pencil (I loathed this blue waxy pencil which crumbled and left blue spots all over one's pages .... scrapbooking has progressed since then and thanks to light boxes nowadays, we can use a ballpoint pen on the back of photos). Marinda this is no offense to you at all. Its just amazing how far the scrapbooking industry has progressed during the last decade.
But, I am off the point. After Marinda has demonstrated how to cut photos, I probably sat for more than an hour contemplating cutting into my very precious, well composed photographs. My first thought was to create a collaged effect with my photos and eventually I got myself cutting my first photograph and of course it was the beginning of the end, as I have never stopped cropping, cutting, sanding, punching and inking my precious photos, to this day. See below my very first scrapbooking page created in November 2000. I am deeply grateful for Marinda who summed me up so well back then, in that she knew I would just love this very special craft, which I have always said is not a hobby, but a commitment for life.
Above, my very first scrapbooking page. We did not even have patterned cardstock in those days and if one think of the billions of patterned cardstock designs to choose from nowadays, its amazing in itself. Here I just used the black album page as the background for the layout. Everything were outlined with a gel pen in those days and fancy scissors were the order of the day. These pics were taken at the Pretoria Botanical Gardens. I just want to hide under the table in my studio when I look back at the scrapbook fashion of those days ... enough to reach out for that craft knife (which we also did not have those days) and ....
Can't believe its over eight years ago that I did my first full road running marathon. I have not forgotten this first and only marathon I did, nearly died in the summer heat of Johannesburg, but finished in a Comrades qualifying time. But hey, 42km's is quite far in a car, so just imagine it on two wonky feet. But I can say, been there, done that and got the T-shirt/medal!
From left to right: Marinda, yours truly, Kayleigh Naude (Terry's eldest daughter) and Terry Naude after a training session at Run & Walk for Life.
Above: Marinda and me.
From the left: Terry Naude, Lenie van Niekerk with whom I have shared litterally thousands of kilometres on the road and Marinda.
Marinda mentioned in her latest email to me that she keeps a photograph of her with me and Terry next to her computer and treasure the memories of our running days. Well, Marinda, I have scratched out the negatives and am on my way to have some of these pics reprinted to also put up in my studio. These are really happy memories.
Sorry to bore some of you with this extra loooong post, but I had to relive some precious memories with my dear friends who have left South Africa. Thanks for stopping by and for all your precious comments.

29 comments:

  1. 4 in 1 wow...how good is that!

    great photo's for your wonderful memories.

    chriss x

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  2. your card is fabulous Desire, I love your fish, such a beautiful card! Love your layouts too, you are very talented!
    Thank you for joining in the CCT challenge, have a great day! Debx

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  3. Wonderful card Desire, Thanks for joining in with this weeks Arty Girlz challenge

    Lovely photos too and thanks for sharing some great memories

    Julie xx

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  4. oh wow Desire...the card is amazing....I am loving all the special details...wonderful piece!!

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  5. Hi Desire,
    love the fish card that you have made, brilliant idea. and your scrappages are brilliant, it is amazing how far scrapbooking has come since those earlier days..product wise..
    what fantastic memories.xx

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  6. Your card is fabulous! I love the collage style and those great button eyes!

    Thanks for sharing your old scrapbook pages...they look just like mine! We've come a long way haven't we?!

    (-: Heidi

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  7. Oooo you are so talented and creative!! I love your style!! I love your blog!!
    Hugs
    Sandra xx

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  8. stunning card Desire love the fish and buttons.

    Thanks for joining in with the Arty Girlz challenge.

    crissi xx

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  9. Anonymous9:00 PM

    i love that you shared your first LO! how things have changed since then...

    i really love your card too.

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  10. Wonderful LO - full of life - thank you for sharing !!

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  11. What a fabulous, fresh and funky card! Love your LOs too - so nice to see such lovely smiles! Thanks so much for joining in with Cute Card Thursday. Lol Lynn ♥

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  12. Hi Hun and wow what a fabulous card this is, so creative, I so admire your work it is never the same and you have so many wonderful ideas. Thanks also for sharing your lovely memories
    Hugs Jacqui xxxxx

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  13. Anonymous11:25 PM

    Your blue and yellow entry is very pretty.
    Faye

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  14. What an awesome card - I just loooove the fishies!!!

    Wow, your scrapping style has certainly come a long way as there were some "not straight" pictures placed there!!! Amazing how things have evolved.

    Memories are great and I love looking back at my older pages and remembering the circumstances.

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  15. Hi Desire,

    I loved reading your scrapbooking history. I think I started right around that time as well... after my oldest was born and that was back in Dec. of 1999. My first activity was to go through a bunch of older photos of mine and I had many pages that were cut out just like the page you shared. The outline of the house I grew up in, the outline of the car that I first drove, etc. etc. No matter what those first pages look like they bring a smile to the face don't they?

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  16. Fabulous card Desire, I love all the little detail you have added and gorgeous colours. Your photos are fab TFS. Have a good day

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  17. Love your card! The colours/prints work great & I dig the fishies with their button eyeballs...have seen quite a few people posting their early layouts on their blogs. Very interesting & comforting to know that we all started out the same & it was the fashion then. I've been scrapping 5 years now & wow things have so developed & sometimes come full circle again - like with the patterned scissors - who knew we would all haul them out again?!LOL I'm loving mine at the moment (again ;-))

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  18. WOW fabulous card, it is really stunning.

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  19. I Love the card...my favourite colours.

    I love how not only scrapbooking in general changed but also how our styles evolve to what it is today...initially we scraplift but eventually we have our own style that we are comfortable with.

    I love reading more about your life!

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  20. Hi I'm back again...this time to let you know there is a little something on my blog for you.
    Hugs
    Sandra xx

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  21. Such a fabulous card, Desire!!! Wow!
    hugs,
    Peet

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  22. You did not bore me, my Friend....I loved reading about how you and your friends! Your card is FABULOUS and your first layout is absolutely beautiful! You always inspire me when I come and visit!

    LOVE THOSE FISH!!!!!! and how you did the inside of the card!

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  23. Please check out my blog, I have left you a challenge.

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  24. ohmy look at the DETAILS! Love your card. it is so adorable!

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  25. Don't apologise for the long post my friend - I love reading about your memories from way back when. Just as I love your card - I always know when I visit your blog there is going to be something that blows me away and this one sure did x

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  26. Oh wow, fabulous. I love the little fishes. Kim

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  27. That was an amazing page for a first scrapbook layout!

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  28. Your first scrapbook page is amazing. Didn't know you were a runner! Do you still run? I enjoyed the handbag bit... you are not only very creative, but organised too. Keep it up!

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  29. I've always wondered how you came to be a scrapper, thanks so much for sharing xxx

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Crafty hugs
Desire