A Weekend Away....

Harsh, exciting, intriguing, and breathtakingly beautiful... The African Bushveld.

The boys and I spent a lovely long weekend in the bush, enjoying the
beautiful scenery, relaxing and unwinding.

In the late afternoons we would take a leaisurly drive through the
game reserve in the open Landrover enjoying some game viewing.

Why I ♥ Chocolates

I love chocolates; one could say it was my first love. I really enjoy it with a hot cup of coffee – dunking it into the hot liquid and letting it melt in my mouth (hmmm), savouring every moment.

I could never understand why sharing a simple chocolate could bring on such happiness or how it could build a lasting friendship and can make two people fall in love until I read this fact sheet about chocolates, which I have kept in my dairy for years (like my permission slip):

Did you know?

• High quality of chocolate is rich in vitamins (A1, B1, C, D, E) calcuim, potassium, iron, sodium and magnesium.


• Chcolate makes you feel good because the coca content in chocolate timulates serotonin which has a positive impact on moods.


• Chocolate has psychological powers. It is symbolic of rewards, love and appreciation - a treat that makes you feel good by assoication.


• The flavour of chocolate, linked to childhood memories, can bring to mind feelings of warmth, tranquility and well-being that chase away worries, nervousness and tension.


• Chocolate contains the stimulant methylxantine that boosts concentration, prevents fatigue and stimulates respiratory and cardiac activity.

The best place to eat chocolate:

• After dinner. What a perfect way to end a perfect evening.


• In the bath. Bubbles and Chocolate - a divine combination. And all the evidence washed away.


• In bed. Chocolate never snores and all the blankets don't end up on its side of the bed either.


• With someone you love. Share a chocolate. Play with chocolate. It's not called the food of love for nothing.
  
  My favorite quote: “They say eating chocolate slows down the ageing process – it may not be true, but why take a chance!” – Anon

Heritage Day

{The quaint little tea garden}
{Pat and Christopher return from exploring the gardens}

{The beautiful gardens}

South Africans across the country celebrated their rich and diverse culture on Thursday 24 September, our country's national Heritage Day. I celebrated the way I love most – relaxing with friends and family. Christopher and I started the morning off with a lovely breakfast with Pat and Eddie at a quaint little tea garden situated in a lovely nursery. While Christopher played with the other children on the jungle gym, we just chatted about everything and nothing, which made the day just perfect.

Decadent Cupcakes.....

A couple of weeks ago I tried my hand at baking some cupcakes, after all, how difficult could it be. But I was so disappointed by the end result, as they did not turn out as I had imagined. On Wednesday afternoon I found my dream cupcake. My friend Terri made these divine cupcakes for her daughter’s 4th birthday party. Each cupcake was handmade using only the best ingredients including real butter, Belgian chocolates, vanilla extract instead of vanilla essence and fresh fruit. Decadent cupcakes that taste as good as they look.

Secretaries Day 2nd September 2009

The first Wednesday of September is always Secretaries Day. This give the Directors, General Managers, Team Leaders and Supervisors an opportunity to show their favourite secretary, personnel assistant, receptionist and administration personnel how much they appreciate all their hard work and dedication. Our gift hampers are sure to brighten up their day.

My Favourite Embellishments

Here are a few of my favourite embellishments that I love to use, making sure that my gift wrapping is a cut above the rest and guaranteed to be opened first.

Finishing Touches

To me the best part of wrapping presents, is adding on the final touches, such as the ribbon and the pretty trinkets. Embellishing a simply wrapped gift can transform it from ordinary to extra ordinary, making it memorable. I keep a tool box filled with ribbons, beads, buttons, raffia, wooden pegs, butterflies, feathers, porcupine quills and luggage tags too, so I will always have something suitable to create for any occasion.

Quoted Saying.....

{My note book filled with witty phrases and famous quotes}

{Inspirational messages on personalized coffee mugs}

I love reading and writing down witty and inspiring quotations cited by famous poets, writers and celebrities. I have a whole note book filled with quotes and catchy phrases – I suppose you could call it a hobby. I often refer back to these when I need a phrase for a birthday card or at a loss of words to write on a sympathy card. I have even put them onto personalized coffee mugs which have become extremely popular with my clients.

Here are few of my favorite to inspire you:

"I quote others only the better to express myself." - Michael Montaigne

“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion” – GWF Hegel

“Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training” – Anna Freud

“Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.” - Dr. Laura Schlessinger

“Life is mostly froth and bubble, but two things stand like stone, kindness in another's trouble and courage in your own.” - Princess Diana

Crazy Cupcake Day

{It's raining, it's pouring}

{Fresh out of the oven}

{Christopher decorating his own cupcakes}

{The end result}

{Eating the yummy end results. Thank goodness he was not fussy on how they looked}

We woke up yesterday morning to the sound of pouring rain, cold and overcast weather. Being a Saturday, this would have been an ideal opportunity to catch up on some sleep or to curl up and read a good book. But rainy days with small children in the house can be long and boring, so I thought it would be a good idea to bake some cupcakes (bearing in mind that I last baked 25 years ago in Home Economics). The cupcake recipe itself was rather easy to follow – no problem. The icing and decorating on the other hand …..

Let me just say – our finished cupcakes did not look like the picture in the recipe book. But for Christopher, he had so much fun baking and decorating his cupcakes. Mission accomplished.

We are the Champions...

The Springboks are our national rugby team and currently the reigning World Champions. For many of us South Africans, rugby is a serious matter, a source of pride and joy – or sometimes shattering disappointment. Tickets are sold out weeks before a big international game. Large corporations use these test matches as a great networking opportunity and the chance to impress their key clients. I had an opportunity to make these invitations, for one of my clients, to the latest match between the Springboks and the British Lions.

It's freezing out there ...

{6:30am winter morning sunrise, still dark and very cold,}

With Summer being nothing but a distant memory I go into hibernation, enjoying cozy family evenings watching our favorite TV shows and cooking homemade soups and stews. My home is not fortunate enough to have under floor heating so out with the oil heaters, electric blankets and the flannel pajamas. It’s the mornings I hate the most - it is still so dark. No sunrise yet? Surely that means I still have at least another two hours sleep? Business becomes slow, I become less creative, I pick up a few kilograms (cause who feels like eating fruit salad in winter) and so we go through winter sluggishly waiting for the first signs Spring.......... Brrrrrrr

You are invited ...

Here are the invitations I designed and created for a corporate function, inviting the Board of Directors to a private game lodge. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed at the outcome, as it took Veronica and I half the morning to design and assemble 10 invitations.

Under Wraps

The simple gift

Photo frame wrapped in tissue paper to protect it and tied together with organza ribbon and beads

All wrapped up - the photo frame is placed into an organza bag and completed with beads and a charm

Our main business is creating gift hampers for birthdays, get well and congratulations. Because our business is very dependent on people having babies, not feeling too well or celebrating a special occasion, we decided to extend our services to keep ourselves busy.

I have noticed that lot of people don’t seem to put any thought into wrapping a gift, which in my opinion, is just as important as the gift itself. That’s when the idea came to me to offer a gift wrapping service to our corporate clients. We go the extra mile when it comes to wrapping, taking a simple promotional item and transforming them from ordinary to extraordinary. Each present is then finished off with an embellishment such as organza ribbons,sea shells, flowers, beads and charms. Our clients often comment that they loved the gift wrapping as much as the gift itself.

Still learning how to blog

Just as I was getting used to Facebook - Pat introduces me to Blogging! She warned me that this was very addictive. As you can tell, I am still learning how to put all my information on and insert my photo's. Thanks Pat, this is fun and enjoying every moment. This is just what I needed.

New Blogger has arrived!!

This blog is under construction. Watch this space for amazing and creative crafts!