Happy Holidays And Some News!

Happy holidays!  Yesterday the schools broke up for the holidays, so that meant my dad is now home for a month,as he is a school teacher.

It is so nice now that my dad is home and he can be with us!   We really miss him when he is at work, we love it when he is home!

Our dad is loved!  He really is a blessed  daddy!  When he has to go to work in the mornings, we are all very sad.  Sometimes Beth and Gabrielle are still asleep when he has to go to work, so when they wake up and find he is gone, there are tears!

We have really, for a long time prayed that our daddy could come home, and work from home, being with us all the time!

Another prayer of our family has been to live on a piece of land in the country, to raise our own meat and vegetables, and to live a self-sufficient life.... to homestead!

And God has come through! After years of prayer, He has made a way for us to move to a smallholding,  near Kynsna!  It is a 4.8 hectare smallholding, with a little cottage on it (a VERY little cottage), in which we are going to live!

 This is the cute little cottage we are going to move to. It's going to be a really tight squeeze, but we are thrilled with all the space to run and play outside!  There is a banana tree, too! Not a bad start to our homesteading efforts...organic bananas!!!

This is the view to the west....isn't it beautiful? Those are the Outeniqua mountains in the distance.

Our little business making and selling fudge has taken off, and we hope to  now live off it!  That means my dad can stay home!  Yes, he will be working, stirring fudge and delivering it to shops, but at least he will be with us!  If he has to deliver fudge to a shop, he could take one of us with!

He has also started a new business venture, called Micro-University, with a wonderful, Godly friend and mentor, helping teenagers find their gifting and purpose to make wise choices for future careers. Check it out HERE!

We are moving in less than three weeks, so we are very busy packing!  It is really challenging with little people running around!  As fast as we pack, they unpack!  So we have our work cut out for us!

We have moved many times in our lives!  I do enjoy it though - being able to de-clutter and move to a new place, unpack things and pack them in the right places is lots of fun!

So yesterday was the end of this life here in the Cape!  Now dad is home, and we can pack up our house quickly, and move! There were great shouts of joy when we heard the car coming up the drive!

Praise the Lord, he has answered our prayers and now our dream is becoming reality! 

An Adventure!

Yesterday was spinning out of control - "Alright!  Off you go!  Go for an adventure to the wetland"  mom said, and so we did... Dad, Beth, Rebekah, Nancy and myself!

We decided to cycle, as it was the quickest way to the wetland and around it, so Rebekah sat in her special seat on Dad's bicycle and the rest of us on our own bikes.

Nancy and I packed a quick lunch and off we went, leaving mom and poor, sick Gabrielle at home for some rest!.

We went around the whole wetland until we found the bench that suited us best!  We plonked ourselves down and tucked into our sandwiches and biscuits!

We had a very nice time sitting enjoying the beautiful scenery - it wasn't the most well organized, best packed, relaxing picnic lunch - but it was lunch, and that was all we needed!

Ten year old, Nancy.

Five year old, Beth.

Phew!  It's thirsty work sitting on the back of Dad's bicycle!  Rebekah 

Beth blocking the way of one year old, Rebekah.

After lunch, Nancy and I raced to see who could cycle the fastest to the road and back - I won!  Dad did his share by timing us while Rebekah and Beth looked on.

Then we had to go home.  We found that such a quick and easy outing was all we needed to cheer ourselves up a little and get rid of the cobwebs!

Meanwhile Mom and Gabrielle had enjoyed the peace, and we enjoyed being outside in nature!

Friend

 I made another card this week for my pen pal.

I really like this card!!

I took part in the following challenges:

The Sweet Stop - layout
Crafty Ann's - Bright Colours (They are having a blog hop, so don't forget to enter!!!)
My Time To Craft - Colour
Stampin For The Weekend - For someone special
Whoopsi Daisy Challenge - As you like it
Digi Doodles Shop's Best - Anything Goes (Stop and take part in their blog hop!!!)
Creative Inspirations  - Distressing
My Time To Craft - Bright Colours

Here is the layout from The Sweet Stop:

And here is my card:

I used the stamp from Sugar Nellie - The Country Garden.  It is the first time I've used this stamp.  It was very difficult to colour in!!

 I used three flowers that I got when Gabrielle was born. They really add a nice look to the card!! 

It is a friendship card.

I hope you week has been good!!

Blessings,
Kelly-Anne

Get Better Soon And Gift

 Hello everyone!  This week I have get better soon card and gift for a little girl to show you.

I took part in the following challenges with my card:

Crafty Ann's - Flowers Always
My Time To Craft - Bright Colours
Totally Gorjuss - Bling it on!
Whoopsi Daisy Challenge - As you like it
Crafty Creations Challenge - Encouragement-Celebrations
Penny's Paper Crafty - 123 Recipe
Digi Doodle Shop's Best - Sparkle, Glitter, Glitz
Stampin For The Weekend - Make someone smile/cheer them up
Stamp Something - 2 of something  (2 pattern papers)
Papertake Weekly - Say it with flowers
The Crazy Challenge - It's a girl thing
Sew Many Challenges - Anything Goes
Fab And Funky Challenge - Make your own (flowers)
Creative Inspirations - A card for a child (for a little girl)
Ooh La La Challenge - Bright and cheerful
Stampavie and More - Flower Power
Your Next Stamp - Cut it out and pop it up!
S2G Challenges - Your favourite colour (pink)
Charisma Cardz Challenge - 3D

And in the following with the gift:


Crafts and Me - Anything but a card

And Here is my card

I used the cute image from Whiff Of Joy, which I think fits really well with a get well soon card.

 

I punched out three flowers, then I glittered them and added a gem.

 

The label says 'Get Better Soon', as it is for a little girl who has been quite sick.

And now for the gift; a tin with biscuits inside wrapped in pink tissue paper.  My mom pinned a flower brooch, which she made had made, on the packet!  She then tied a bow around the top!

These are the yummy biscuits we put inside!

What a lovely gift to receive when you are feeling ill!

Have a wonderful week further!

Blessings,
Kelly-Anne

Love You

Hello Everyone! I hope you have been having a wonderful and blessed week?

I have made another card to show you!  It is a 'Love You' card.

I took part in the following challenges:
Friday Sketchers Challenge - Layout
Crafty Cardmakers - Inside Out
A Spoon Full Of Sugar - Cute And Girly
Magical Crafts Fortnight Challenge - Black and One Other colour
Your Next Stamp - Pop It Up!
Whoopsi Daisy Challenge - As You Like It
Totally Gorjuss - round and round
My Time To Craft - Under the Weather (Cute Cards)
Crafty Ann's - Anything Goes
Practical Scrappers - Patterned Paper

Here is the layout by Tanja from Friday Sketchers Challenge:

And here is my card:

I decorated the inside of my card, for a change!

I used some pretty red lace to go in the middle of my card, which I think looks really nice!

I used the stamp from Sugar Nellie called 'Rope Swing', which I think is really cute!

 

I had such fun with this card, though it was a little tricky to get the right size circle!!


This card I am adding to my collection.  It is lovely when you need a card for someone, and you can just go to your stash and pull one out!


Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,
Kelly-Anne

A Praise Party

How often do we praise God for all the wonderful blessings He gives to us? Not often - we are usually complaining and asking for things.

In Thessalonians 5:16-18 it says that we are to give thanks to God in all circumstances - good or bad! It is easy to praise God when things are going right in your life, but it isn't so easy when life is a little tough!

God is powerful - He is the one who created us, and He loves praise!

On Friday night we had a 'Praise Party' as a family, to praise God for our family, health and for everything He is doing in our lives.

My mom, sisters and I prepared a three-course meal for supper.



















Preparing the tartlets.
 



















Gabrielle helping prepare the chicken and butternut lasagne.

This was our menu:

Starter: roast tomato tartlets





















Main Course: butternut and chicken lasagne




















Dessert: bread and butter pudding with custard


















I then cut out a whole lot of little strips of paper, for us to write our praises on. Each family member was given five or six strips of paper, on which they had to write 'Praise God For:' and their praise. Once that was done, we folded them in half and popped them into a small basket.





















Before supper, we had communion as a family, which is a very important part of our week. Christ's death and resurrection is something that we appreciate a lot.

We then had supper, which was very yummy!




















Gabrielle eating her starter.

Once we had had the main course, we read each other's praises. We all took turns to take a piece of paper from the basket and read it aloud.




















Gabrielle's praises were very hard to understand, so we gave them to her to read aloud!




















Beth and Daddy.

Then it was time to have dessert.....yummy! We all loved it! It was the first time that I had tried bread and butter pudding!

And so ended our lovely evening of prayer, praise and fellowship!

I will share the recipes with you in a later post!

So I encourage you to have a praise party! The time of praising the Lord is so special, especially when doing so as a family!

Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks (praise) in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus
~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Have a blessed week further,
Kelly-Anne

You Are 1!

Hello everyone! This week I have made a card for my little sister Rebeakh who is turning one years old on the third of June! She really is so sweet and is walking now! Life is wonderful with her in it!

















Here is the card I made for her:

















I used a double sided sheet of card stock that I got last year. It is a very plain card, but I really like it!

I took part in the following challenges:

One Stitch At A Time Challenge - Going Dotty
Stamp Something - Celebrations
Sweet Stampin Blog - Personal
Crafty Cardmakers - Distressing
Cute Card Thursday - Someone Special
Whoopsi Daisy Challenge - As you like it
Digi Doodles - Ribbon
Your Next Stamp - Pop it Up
Crafty Angles - One for the Girls
Allsorts Challenge - Birthdays
By The Cute And Girly - Celebrations
Papertake Weekly - Shiny and Special
ABC Challenge - From Unused Stash
My Time To Craft Challenge - Too Cute
Totally Gorjuss - Pink and Green
Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog - Anything Goes
For Fun Challenges - Use a Stamp

















I used the very cute stamp by Sugar Nellie called Arthur, but I decided to call it 'Annie' instead, because this card is for a girl!














I wrote 'you are 1!' on the label.

















My mom tied a pretty pink bow on the bottom of the card.

















I popped out a few presents, which I think really looks sweet!

That is all for now!

Blessings to all,
Kelly-Anne

Thanks A Bunch!

Hello there!  I have made a thank you card for a family friend of ours who lives in the UK.  She sent me a card making magazine, and some card making goodies!  So I thought I should make her a card to say thank you!

This week, Friday Sketchers turned  two years old, and they had a blog hop!  So I decided to follow their layout, as well as take part in other challenges:


Friday Sketchers Challenge - layout

Totally Papercrafts - Stitching
Sisterhood of Scraps - Stitching
Cupcake Crafts Challenge - Buttons
One Stitch At A Time Challenge - Going Dotty
Polka Doodles - Summer Blossoms
Crafty Cardmakers - Distressed
Crafty Angles - One for the Girls
Lexi's Creations - Animals
Whoopsi Daisy Challenge - As you like it

And The Blogs For The Hop:

Tanja
Jacque
Claudia
Carole
Inge
Janneke 
Jeanette 
Aud

They are offering some awesome prizes, so go take a look, and join in the hop!

Here is the sketch by Jacque:

 And here is my card using that sketch:

I love the dotty paper!

I used three pink buttons on the top of my card, which I think looks really sweet!  My mom stitched the triangles together, which really gives the card a lovely look!

I love the little Elephant stamp!  I coloured it pink - because pink is my favourite colour!  It is holding a bunch of flowers, that is why I wrote 'Thanks A Bunch! on the label.

I had a wonderful time making this card!

I hope you had an awesome weekend!

Blessings,
Kelly-Anne

A Get Well Soon Card

Hello everyone!  I have made another card that I would like to show you!  It is a Get Well Soon card.

I took part in the challenges listed below:


Crafty Angles- A 123 Recipe: 1 Ribbon, 2 Papers, 3 Flowers.
Stampin For The Weekend - A card for a boy
Crazy For Challenges - Boy card
Incy Wincy Designs - Anything Goes
Creatalicious Challenges - Something with flowers and wings

Here is my card:

 I used two different kinds of paper: the brown spotty and the  background paper. 

I used the very cute Magnolia stamp called Edwin.  I made him sit on a piece of black organza.

 

I used three flowers on the side of my card.

I had such fun making this card.  I was very sad when it was finished!

Hope your weekend has been good!

Blessings,
Kelly-Anne