Dreams...

In dreams we

catch glimpses

of life larger

than our own

Dream big. Dream your own dreams. And of course...scrapbook your journey!

Have a great weekend.

blessings

{L}

Birthday time....

Please go here and sing happy birthday to a very special chick!

{L}

The Simple Six-Letter Word That Determines Success...

Action

So what are you getting done today?



Read more about here.

blessings
{L}

From me....

blessings

{L}

A gentle reminder...

“With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future.

I live now.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The living moment is everything.”

- D.H. Lawrence

“I never think of the future.

It comes soon enough.”

- Albert Einstein

blessings
{L}

Too cute...

Children's views on angels

"It's not easy to become an angel! First, you die... Then you go to heaven, then
there's still the flight training to go through. And then you got to agree to wear those angel clothes."

"I only know the names of two angels: Hark and Harold."

"Everybody's got it all wrong. Angels don't wear halos anymore. I forget why, but scientists know all about it now."

"My guardian angel helps me with math, but he's not much good for science."

"When an angel gets mad, he takes a deep breath and counts to ten, and when he lets out his breath, somewhere there's a tornado."

"Angels have a lot to do and they keep very busy. If you lose a tooth, an angel comes in through your window and leaves money under your pillow. Then when it gets cold, angels go north for the winter.

"All angels are girls because they gotta wear dresses and boys didn't go for it."

"Some of the angels are in charge of helping heal sick animals and pets. And if they don't make the animals get better, they help the kid get over it."

"What I don't get about angels is why, when someone is in love, they shoot arrows at them."

blessings
{L}

The month of...

{L}ove!

Been busy creating and writing with love (for T&A's next issue).

And I'm loving this which is part of an email Vicki sent me:

How to stay young

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them."

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop."

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

And onto more frivolous stuff...

...guess what I'm doing tonight....

















Hoping there are no power outages!

Have a happy day, keep young...

blessings
{L}

An Echo...

... in the darkness!

I survived 21 hours of no electricity!
That means no stove, kettle, lights, treadmill, scrapbooking class, computer... but it does mean a good, really good, sleep!

The dark didn't inspire me at all!

So today I get my inspiration from others:

My friend Fiona's new email signature in her favourite colour:
If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right. - Henry Ford

My friend Stephanie's gorgeous doodle:















And something I realised while sitting in the dark:
There is more to life than increasing its speed. - Gandhi

So I just need to refer to my previous post and seize the moment, all the moments!

blessings
{L}

Food for thought...

Twenty years from now

you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do

than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain

So... why don't you try something new today, this week, or this month?! January is legendary for "resolutions".

How many people do you know that are currently sweating it out at the gym, or starving themselves on a new diet? That's not what I mean.

Do something you've never done before. Start with your scrapbooking - try a new technique. Create a layout with an old technique you haven't used in a while. Start an album about you - it's important and has the most amazing benefits you'll only discover as you do it. Sort through those old family pictures, gather everything you can for a heritage album - history is rich, it gives us a place of 'belonging'.

Most important: Enjoy what you do, don't let it become a task.

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. - Anatole France

blessings

{L}

Life is Good...

...this is the scene outside my office / studio window.

Beautiful green grass, a hedge that's almost growing to perfection, sparkling blue swimming pool, big leafy trees - the home to birds.

And then my reminder that "Life is (indeed) Good".

It's a vinyl sticker from a company called Life is Good. I stuck it on my window to remind me every day, as I walk in, that no matter what - life is good.

You can check out their website for additional inspiration.

I'd love to hear what makes your life good. Kids back at school / a new job / goals / something small / something big...

How about a challenge?

Create a page layout using Life is Good as your title. I'd love to see what you create.

(Come on AAM girls!!)

blessings

{L}

Happy New Year!

...with the first month of 2008 almost halfway, I got in just in time!

To all of you, best wishes for a wonderful new year.

I have sent out my new schedule for January and February workshops that I'll be teaching. If you're not on my list email me and I'll include you.

Yes, I have been missing from this neck of the woods... I've had a great rest, a long one from my blog too. Here I am, refreshed for the new year ahead which is bound to be full (again). The rest did my creative mode good too - a full techno-break is just what I needed.

Here are some photos from the last couple of weeks... Coming in for a feed
Cat stretch
Wild dogs play
Fish food!

Big mouth

blessings

{L}

More random name stuff

I came across this list of rankings showing how popular my name has been through the decades, ranked out of 1000. (Can't find the link though).

Lara-

1960' s - ranked 487
1970's - ranked 338
1980's - ranked 425
1990's - ranked 707

Seems pretty obvious that the 1970's would be popular with the movie Dr Zhivago and "Lara's Theme" hitting screens in 1965.

Here's the page, about my name which won me the spot in the SA Cream of the Crop competition (long-long ago).

With such a short name you wouldn't expect it could be shortened or nicknamed in any way... wrong! Here are a few...

La

Lalie
Lars

Lala

Lalish

Lapsie

Lopsie

Lollipops

Lara-Lou

Wawa ;)

I *love* my name... thanks mom!

blessings

{L}

In the busyness....

... there's really a buzz around Johannesburg as kids finish school this week, matrics are on their way to their big holiday, moms rush around with last minute stuff and the shops are filling with Christmas goodies.

I'm buzzing too with my fave girls' Christmas class on Saturday - adding finishing touches to gifts etc {wink}. So in all this busyness, just thought I'd share a quote I came across today....

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." ~ Hamilton Wright Mabie

blessings
{L}

What I've really been doing...

...between then and now....

I have....
- celebrated a birthday
- signed off T&A #5 for print
- seen the Lion King
- sat in a really fun card-making class
- created a couple of layouts for me, classes, the next T&A
- skipped a meal or two
- skyped America, Switzerland and around the corner
- improved my water skiing skills
- still not learnt to jump quickly into the water

...and those are some of my reasons for not being here!

And for today, to my friends in America... happy Thanksgiving!

And it really wouldn't be a bad idea if we all could all adopt a day for being grateful. How about putting together a little gratitude journal, or scrapbook a page.

Here are some fun topics for gratitude journals:
1. Things that make me laugh
2. Prayers of thanks
3. What I love about myself
4. Opportunities I'm thankful for
5. People who've changed my life
6. Life-changing experiences
7. The job I love best
8. Relationships that make a difference
9. Life's lessons
10. What makes my house a home

blessings
{L}

Just in case you've forgotten....

... and I might have too... So, I took this quiz to find out who I am:

Hello, my name is Lara!

My Japanese name is: Sakura Daigo

My Hillbilly name is: Linda Sue Walker

My French name is: Fayme Petit (like it!)

My Pirate name is: Mad Hook-Handed Helen

My Superhero name is: The Arch Flame

My Rapper name is: Clever Scrappy (seriously it is!)

And it's good to be breathing normally again! Succumbed a little to this thing called publishing deadline. I have a breather now for about, oh say, a day or so!

Will be blogging sooner....

blessings

{L}

Testing 1, 2, 3...

... and 4!

Here's the cover of Time & About #4. I realised that I hadn't posted it yet, with all that "resting" of mine!






And there's good news for my international friends.... you CAN subscribe and receive this proudly South African scrapbooking magazine right on your doorstep too! So thanks for asking.
Here's the link

In other news, I've been stuck in traffic a LOT the last couple of days, with all the rain - (false) tornado warnings - power outages.

I love the security of my desk, right here in my office and much prefer it to being in the car.

Busy, busy with T&A #5 - our Nov/Dec issue. I'll pop in here again though (sooner than I have been).

blessings
{L}

Success...

"To laugh often and much,

to win the respect of intelligent people

and the affection of children,

to earn the appreciation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends,

to appreciate beauty,

to find the best in others,

to leave the world a bit better,

whether by a healthy child,

a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;

to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded ."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

blessings

{L}

PLAY layouts

... I am on the comeback... lots to catch up with since my little sabbatical.

In the meantime, here are the page layouts Kelli, Jenaye and I taught at the various Live, Scrap, PLAY events.

There are a few kits still available of some of the classes. If you would like a kit, please email me:

blessings

{L}

{the official} PLAY Event Feedback

Live, Scrap, P.L.A.Y.

[Participating in the Lives of African Youth]

Thank you

for being part of

Live, Scrap, PLAY 2007

We are thrilled to announce

that the event, held at

various scrapbook stores

around Johannesburg

and at a kick-off event

in Arizona USA,

raised an amount of

ZAR118 500.00 (USD17 000.00)

A very big thank you to all involved

in the success of the workshops

brought to you by {me}, Polka Dot Chick - Kelli Collins

and Chick jnr - Jenaye Collins

Thank you to these stores for hosting

a PLAY event:

Beautiful Scrapbooks, Scrapbook Emporium, Scraptifity Scrapbook Design Cafe,

The Scrapbook Store, The Scrapping Studio, and Scrapbooks Etc. Arizona.

Thank you to the wonderful scrapbookers

who attended these events

and to the many more

who were involved in one way or another.

An extra special thank you to our sponsors

for donating the amazing products

used in the great scrapbook projects.

Thank you for coming to P.L.A.Y.

Live, Scrap, P.L.A.Y. is a non-profit event

Funds raised by Live, Scrap, PLAY 2007

will go to Footprints Children’s Centre

(a Section 21 company)

PBO 930023393

blessings

{L}

{new}

... it's a new month! My little quote - once we hit August, the year is over. So don't blink too long!



I just realised that while catching my breath after PLAY-ing, I forgot to post this....
The {new} Time & About #3 is out...

The cover layout uses Bazzill Bling and Bazzill Cardstock-with-Edge, AC Thickers covered with Ranger Stickles and a WR big eyelet.

Hope you enjoy reading and creating from it as much as I did putting it together.

blessings

{L}