Friday 7 October 2016

CASology Featured Designer : Week 1



CASology is one of my favourite Challenge Blogs as Melissa and the design team continue to inspire me with their top notch CAS cards. So I was more than delighted when Melissa invited me to the Featured Designer for October.

I'm sharing a little of my story ...


I’m a Zimbabwean Born, South African raised, Mauritian settled, enthusiast of all things paper, ink, stamps etc. 

5 fun facts about Mauritius for those who don’t know much about it :
  • The island is only 42 miles long by 29 miles wide;
  • It is called the rainbow nation because there are so many different ethnic groups; 80 different religious denominations and more than 20 languages spoken
  • One of the first countries in the world to produce postage stamps & the Blue Penny stamp is one of the rarest in the world.
  • One of the few places in the world that have Seven Coloured Earths - and what is more fascinating is the fact that if you mix the colored earth together, they'll eventually settle into separate layers.
  • It was home to the Dodo bird

Can you spot Mauritius on the map?  

And some of the beauty of Mauritius ... clockwise from top left ... The sugar cane fields where I walk my dogs, the Coloured Earths, the incredible aerial shot of Le Morne where it looks like there is an underwater waterfall and a rainbow in Black River.


Back to crafty things ...

I started stamping 22 years ago and added scrapping in 2001, but I also enjoy crochet, decoupage, sewing, baking, reading, Bible & bullet journaling, handwriting and watercoloring.  I love creating and want to do it all but there are just not enough hours in the day! Playing in card challenges, and following the many talented craft bloggers out there has helped me discover and develop my place & style. I love using colour when I create -  especially blues, greens and rainbows.  I find that I am gravitating towards CAS more and more but I as I can’t resist playing with techniques it can be a challenge.


As there weren’t any stamping or scrapbooking shops in Mauritius back in the day, I started bringing back supplies each time I went to South Africa. My hobby grew in fits and starts from my dining room table, to having too many boxes of supplies, to carving out my own craft space and now I have a tiny shop and small studio at home. I give a stamping class every Thursday and do scrapping classes and projects as the mojo flows.

This card fits in with this week’s CASology Challenge : SUPPORT, and October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  I especially dedicate it to my friends who have faced breast cancer and fought the good fight (Fi, Christine & Margaret).


I used Distress Ink Picked Raspberry to colour the flower. The sentiment is from Club Scrap.

I will also enter this to the Time Out Challenge : Breast Cancer Awareness.

A couple of things I've been making this past week : First, the Irresistible Tote Bag (when I saw this one on Pinterest, I just HAD to make one). I used Echo Park papers and the MFT Blueprint tags 4. This size is a perfect fit for standard size cards.


Secondly, these tags were too sweet not to CASe - thank you Donna for an absolute delight. I used the bird from the Jolly Friends set as I don't have Winter Wonderland set. So far I think it's my favourite Christmas card of this year. The last time I used this bird, I made this card. The red "string" from May Arts is marvellous as it has wire inside which makes it easy to control the shape. 






18 comments:

  1. ohhh wow Mauritius... I love this Island spent 2 weeks in February 2013 and just enjoyed the whole culture so much. I visited several places and also the 7 colored earth :) But best ever was to dive over there. That was really an amazing souvenir. If you want to look at some of my shots I shared... http://cardsbymelanie.blogspot.com/search/label/Holiday?updated-max=2014-04-05T09:00:00%2B02:00&max-results=20&start=7&by-date=false

    Now on to your beautiful creations. All very pretty but I'm really fund of the tote bag can't believe it's made out of paper.
    Thanks for sharing all this great pictures.

    Wish you a nice week-end
    Regards from Switzerland
    Melanie-Jane

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  2. Janet! Your island is absolutely breathtaking! I'm in utter awe! :O
    Beautiful creations, as always! I love the rich, monochromatic color on that gorgeous bloom! That little tote is too cute (...& now I'm going to have to go check out the link you provided)! I'm thinking wire in decorative string is a very good thing (if I could only figure out how to tie a decent bow to begin with...sigh)! Cute holiday card! I love the embossed snow! :) So very happy to have you guesting with us for the next four weeks!!!

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  3. The sentiment is wonderful and a good reminder that hard times can make us stronger and better (even if we don't enjoy them! lol!) So great to have you as a feature this month - and thanks for playing along!

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  4. Loved visiting your corner of the the world and the glimpse of your craft space. Your card is stunning and the sentiment is both true and incredibly touching. A lovely tribute to survivors of this foul disease. Be assured I'll be back to enjoy more of your crafty goodness...still swooning over that bag.

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  5. i so enjoyed reading about you Janet and learning more about your life - congrats on your guest design spot. will look forward to your creations.

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  6. So delightful to learn more about you and see the gorgeous island where you live! Your CASology card is beautiful, and I love your tote and Christmas card too!

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  7. Congratulations on being the featured designer this month and thank you for showing a little of your world, Janet! I love everything shared today!

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  8. Janet, I had no idea you lived on such a beautiful island! Thank you for sharing facts and pictures...I'm fascinated by it all! I also love the cards you shared...all of them! Your card for this week's challenge is gorgeous and so thoughtful. I'm so glad to see you featured this month at CASology...we love it when you play along each week!

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  9. Just stunning and so very interesting to read about Mauritius.

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  10. Gorgeous card Janet ! And congratulations on being the October featured designer ! And when I see all those beautiful pictures of your island, I understand how creative you are with such gorgeous inspirations ! Thanks for making us dreaming !
    Izzy Scrap

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  11. Hey there. It is so wonderful to learn more about you and the beautiful country where you live. I love the cards you have made, and thank you so very much for being our featured designer at CASology this month. I eagerly look forward to your next post.

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  12. And, also I forgot to add my thanks to you for playing along at Time Out.

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  13. So good to have you as our guest this week Janet!
    Always love your cards!
    LOVE this bag, I want a REAL one just like this!
    One day, we will visit Mauritius. For sure. On our "to visit island list"!

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  14. Hey Janet!! Such a pretty flower! Nicely colored as well. Thank you so much for playing with us this week at CASology.

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  15. Thanks for sharing your story and those pictures of beautiful Mauritius! I have never been though it is definitely on the list - I have heard that the diving is phenomenal!
    Incredible projects - I love them all! The Christmas card is so sweet - I can see why it's your favourite; the bag is incredible; and the flower card is absolutely perfect for our challenge - thanks so much for playing along with us at Time Out! Jill

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  16. Your pictures are beautiful, your cards are fabulous, and I love the pink flower! Thanks for taking the Time Out to play with us!

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  17. I'm embarrassed that I haven't stopped by sooner...Your card is so perfect for those who have dealt with this ugly disease. Love, Love, Love your Tote Bag, and your Christmas card is darling! Thanks for sharing a little bit about yourself and your beautiful country!

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