Welcome Baby

hello everyone

I trust you are all well... if you are in Cape Town...I hope you are keeping warm and snug...there's an icy wind out there...

Last weekend we had a baby shower for my second cousin's daughter... she is having a baby girl... of course, trust me to wait half an hour before we leave to realize that the gift was not wrapped and that we needed a card for the prezzie too..

Anyway.. I had treated myself to a die with baby clothes and a pram n bib die so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to try them out... of course being a girl... I had to cut out the die cuts in pink...

The background was stamped with one of my favorite Penny Black background stamps..in pink or course....... I layered plain pink and floral pink for the border - also pushed through my Vagabond to create a scalloped border.

I also embossed the baby grow with one of my Sizzix embossing folders - I used the argyle section of the folder ... and think the grower came out rather cute... to finish the grower I added some pearls for buttons and mounted them with mirror tape to create that 3D look. oh yes... I just hand wrote Baby and ABC on the bib and the bottle...in purple

This one really only took me about 15 minutes... and I also used up some of my off cuts which are at hand - I oganised them by color a few months ago.. and I must admit... they do save time when I am looking for a small off cut of a specific color. I will try to post my color co ordinated off cut drawers sometime... just wish I could find some drawers like these for my scrap book off cuts... there seems to be more and more of them after each project... LOL

Have a splendid weekend... and I hope to load something again early next week.

hugz

shamela :-)

Happy to be home and crafty again

Hello everyone

I know its been a while since I've posted on my blog, but its been hectic getting back home after a month and catching up on getting my life back to normal...and doing a clean up in the shop..which probably hasn't seen the sun for the whole month.

Of course....I had the scrapbook convention which I attended on the 5th of May and had the most amazing time. Graphic 45, Glenda and Adri Venter were all just wonderful and I had a blast getting my hands inky again after a full month.

Anyway... earlier this week with the help of my friend Debbie I found some scrapbook paper shelving which I think was sadly needed here... and of course when I get new stuff, I need to do a repack and clean out.. that's just me...

Here are a few pics of my new arrangement.

So if you are into scrapbooking, rubberstamping and card making, give me a call ( 082 444 6477) or drop me an email shamelahendricks@gmail.com we have a wide range of imported rubber stamps from Hero Arts & Penny Black among others... and of course I have to have on hand the wonderful Ranger and sizzix products used my the amazing Mr Tim Holtz!

Will post pictures soon of my completed projects from the convention.

Have a stampendous day ....the weekend is almost here!

Inky Hugz
shamela
my website a work in progress but operating www.kanjekrafts.co.za

Jerusalem - Holy Land Hotel

We arrived in the old city of Jerusalem yesterday and managed to take a stroll around the city.

I felt as if I had been taken back in time with wonderful cobbled streets, little alleys leading of many main walkways. It is probably easy to get lost in this maze, but we stick to the main routes and had no problem.

Our hotel is the Holy Land Hotel which Is probably just as ancient as the city.... Not the luxury we have become accustomed to, but hey..... they have free wifi so I am not complaining LOL.

Even the lifts are from yesteryear - the door still opens out like the old days and it's tiny.... All 7 of us can't fit in one go.

Here are s few pics of the hotel - we are off on a day trip today and will hopefully post some pics later today.

Take care

Hugz

Shamela

Pics of lounge area

Ok so here are the pics I promised of our hotel in Jordan

We have wifi in our room now so @ least I can update my blog easily for the next four days until we move on again.

I have learned here that hotel lobby's are always inviting and gorgeous, but that doesn't always mean the rooms and service is on par..... LOL.

Will post new hotel's pics soon and some pics of our view.

Have a super week further.

Hugz

Shamela

Amman Jordan

We have left Saudi Arabia after spending one night in Jeddah at the Red Sea Palace Hotel.

Wow.... Breakfast was a feast of new and different beautifully presented foods.... As luck would have it for all the days our driver has collected us....he has been late.... This morning he is early... So breakfast was a rushed affair of which none of us were impressed.

The hotel in Jeddah is an old hotel, bit the staff aim to please which was delightful and the cherry on top, most of them spoke and understood English so we could communicate effectively.

I am now sitting in our hotel room in Amman, Jordan. About a 2 hr flight from Jeddah. The drive from the airport proved to be mostly desert with an attempt at farming in large tent like structures not uncommon in South Africa. Also, lots of fruit - think they were strawberries being sold along the roadside. Also veggies like carrots, tomatoes and olives. Fortunately it's only about 25 degrees so we feel blessed with cooler weather.... Having experienced 29 to 33 degrees @ 4 am and soaring temps of 37 to 39 during the day in Mecca. At final Prayer for the day.... Which commenced at 20h10 the stone outside the mosque in Mecca stilled burned your feet. This is an indication of how hot it is here. The sun would have set at 18h40 and the stone was still hot!

Anyway this hotel is not the 5 stars we are used to, but it's close to where we want to be for the next part of our travels. I will tell more when we get back Inshallah (God willing).

Meanwhile this is the view from my hotel room.

Will post pics of hotel lobby if I get the chance.

Really missing home right now.... And I haven't scrapped or stamped in almost a month having withdrawal symptoms big time. Looking forward to going to Spier in May for the mixed media event-I am sure this will cure my ails .....LOL.

Have a wonderful week.

Hugz

Shamela

Our last Jumah (Friday prayers) in Makka

Hello everyone

It was a long wait today for the Friday sermon and prayer here in Mecca. In order to secure a seat in the air-conditioned area we had to be here @ 10h30 already for 12h20.

There are soooooo many people here and because Jumah is a special day, many of the residents out of Mecca come in on a Thursday evening to 'catch' the Friday prayer or Jumah as we call it. With the result, the haram is filled to capacity. Women sit separately from the men.

It is our last Jumah here, we were very fortunate to have 1 Jumah in Medina ( the mosque of our Prophet Mohammed PBUH) and 2 here in Mecca.

I am sad to be leaving yet also been missing the family back home, so am suffering from mixed feelings right now. What I find totally unexplainable is that the talk is delivered in Arabic and although we as South African Muslims can read Arabic, we cannot speak or understand the language except for a few key words here and there. This is the unexplainable - despite the lack of understanding, there are underlying emotions that surface when the Imam (guess we can call him a priest) delivers his sermon. I find myself sobbing with emotion and can feel the urgency and his pleas to the Almighty for guidance, peace around the world, keeping us on the path of the good, among other things.

These pics are but a small section of the Holy Mosque in Mecca which has been set aside for women. There are countless ones all around the Haram which stretches for kilometers around the Kaba and they are all filled to capacity spilling out into the streets and paths around the haram.

We waited for half an hour to avoid the crush of people leaving the haram - this gives you an idea of the number of people here and that was just in our section alone.

These pics where sneaked with my iPad but I hope it will give u a small idea of the number of people here.

All colors, denominations, races, creeds coming here to serve their Creator.

We leave here on Sunday morning - I hope that there will be wifi at our hotel in Jordan and one more city we are visiting before returning to South Africa on the 30th.

Have a wonderful day

Hugz

Shamela

Hello from Saudi Arabia

Hi all

I am waiting for my room to be serviced and am sitting in hotel lobby lounge cause the wifi works here.

Thought I would share with you very quickly what it looks like.

I am missing my children and family back home, but skype and FaceTime helps to keep in touch.

Almost time for afternoon prayers so this will have to be quick

Have a blessed and wonderful day

Hugz
Shamela