What a journey

125 more views and we will have 80 000 views

What a highlight!!

Thank you 

Thank you 

and one more humble

Thank you !

This is now five years and 320 posts later.
Benice and I really enjoyed our journey.
We learned, laughed, cried, painted, planned
and packed a lot.
And we stitched a few things together.

Things change and life moves in different directions
so today will be my last post on this blog.

Benice will still be creating, sewing and writing
articles.

I will still be blogging, sharing, teaching and creating.
So now I want to introduce you to my new blog.

www.thegreyladder.blogspot.com

As with many things, the grey ladder has a story.
My Grandfather made this ladder over 90 years ago.
He made it out of Bamboo and wood.
He used it a lot and when he passed away it was
 left unused and in storage for a long time.
When we built my studio I knew I wanted this ladder
to hang from the roof.
So now it is in its new place and every one that visits the studio
notices it. So what better name for my studio than
The Grey Ladder.

Back to Between Cupcakes and Tea,
these are our top six posts:

 Decoupage on Canvas Sneakers - 2786 views
Memories of a Princess - 2520 views
Into Bracelets - 1591 views
49 Today - 1516 views
Birthday Calendar and Note pad - 656 views
Nine Love Stories - 614 views.

There are many things we shared with you
over the past 5 years, please browse through
the blog and enjoy.

Keep well.
xx

88 Today

I need to say a special Happy Birthday to my mom who is turning 88 today.

Yesterday we had cake and tea with her, my dad and the rest of the family.

My sister baked a Carrot cake, using a recipe my mom once won a price with.

It was delicious!

My niece and I made her a 3-D birthday card which she enjoyed a lot.

After the party I took out all the hearts and flowers and stars.

Tied it into a bundle and she took it home.

Happy Birthday Mom, we love you lots. x

Riebeek Valley Olive Festival

 

Hi Everyone

as you know I am a few posts behind,

 

but I would first like to share a few photographs of

the Olive Festival that we went to.

It is an annual event held in the Riebeek Valley,

one of the most beautiful places in our country.

 

 

The day before the festival started we went on our own wine tour with

our friend Johan. He knows the region and he really knows his wine,

which was a huge benefit to us!

 

 

I love the smell of an old wine cellar and the old farms has a

special magic to them. Here you talk to the owner or the winemaker

and buy directly from them and of course you start tasting at eleven

o'clock in the morning!

 

 

The day the festival started all the stalls were fully stocked

and you could taste bread, honey, olives, wine,

preserves and lots more.

 

I liked the new way the sell olive oil. In a litre box.

Now it will stay fresher for longer, because no light or oxygen

can get to the oil. Brilliant.

 

 

I can't believe that I didn't buy one of these cupcakes....

Never pass up on a chance like this.

 

Later in the day we settled at Kloovenburg, bought a bottle of wine and

some cheese platters. Sat in the sun and soaked up the atmosphere,

the music, the colours and the smells.

 



 



Our last stop of the day was at a modern wine cellar, Pulpit Rock.

Excellent wine, wonderful atmosphere

and delicious food.

That night Johan, Sonia and the team (all of us)

made supper and kuiered on the stoep until very late.

 

Next year we are doing it again!

 



A Winnie the Pooh birthday cake.

On Sunday we celebrated Marocé 's first birthday

When it was her birthday on the 29th of March, her Grandma and Grandpa were out of town.

( Grandma running the Two Oceans Marathon! )

Great Grandpa immobilized after an eye operation and Great Grandma

taking care of him.

So Sunday was our first time together with everyone back in town and fit enough to travel.

 

A friend baked and decorated the cake.

It was absolutely STUNNING!

 

I saw a Winnie the Pooh cake on Pinterest and knew we had to have one for her birthday!

 

There were toadstools and snails, butterflies and lady birds, flowers and bees.

The cake was just perfect. I got the cake on Friday and had to keep it a secret,

because it was a surprise to the mom and dad and of course Marocé,

But I took lots of photographs.

 

 

I think the cake ..... and of course Marocé was the hit of the day!

Thank you Albertha!

 

(yes, there are photos of the baby and the cake.... but I don't have any.

I was to busy organizing everything and everybody!!

I will see if I can later post one of the birthday girl)



A coat of paint and a new look.

A girl must have her own set of tools....

I like my sander, in fact I have two. A Black and Decker Mouse and an old green thing

that takes me for a ride all over the place. (or piece of wood)

But it still works well, although I had to check with my husband

about the sparks that I saw inside the green machine one late afternoon.

So my project was to sand down my two studio tables and paint them a good colour.

 

 a GOOD COLOUR...... can spark a big debate....

I sanded the tables and gave each a few coats of paint, then my mom and dad

came to visit and he asked: "Did you sand in between coats?"

"of coarse, dad....."

 

Ok, then when the tables were back in the studio, it was time for the numbers! 

Each one of the six seats had to have a number.

I used stencil glue to keep the numbers in place and

 Dala's white craft paint and a stencil brush did the rest. 

 

So when my birthday came, my table was ready.

I must still find someone that will do the cooking, so I can just do the decorating.

But this time it was a lot of fun and hard work, because I had to do both.

 

I found some place mats and stripy paper bags in a "good colour"

that matched perfectly.

 

Candles.... always candles and fairy lights to create the right atmosphere.

 

I think it turned out perfectly and the new colour for the tables

is a big change. Now for the rest of the woodwork to be painted!

And there's lots!

 

 

 



 

 

 

Birthday Flowers

These roses are the most exquisite color I have ever seen.

I took some photographs of them while they were at their best, but the surprise came when I harvested the leaves to let them dry and then I saw this incredible colour combination.

 

The roses never really opened. They had a slight fragrance and after a

few hot days they dropped their heads and started going off.

 



Yellow and vintage pink, and each petal perfectly formed and folded

around the next one. This picture was taken on my newly painted studio table,

 



and this one was taken outside.

 



Here they are, all ready to dry. The colours will fade,

but I have my photographs.

 

 





Wise words

 

I am addicted to Pinterest..... terrible? No..... !

To me it is a galaxy of ideas.

 

But I am not a very active facebooker. Anyway,

 one of my friends had this to share today

and I think it is very true.

                              

 

A friend of mine's dad passed away last night, another

friend's mom is terminal. My mom and dad are both 86.

We can't all be strong all the time.

 

Keep well,

keep strong or do a good job of crying!. x

 

 



La Vie book - Part 9

Page 16 and inside back cover.

 Another greeting card from Elise Grey Collections,

a flower and brad from Making Memories,

some flower trim and an angel dangle complete page 16.

I used the back of a greeting card from Cavania Cards 

as the focal point for my inside back cover.

The front of the card was used as part of my book's front cover.

Also on the page are ephemera by K & Company,

a metal quote by Making Memories and scraps of patterned paper.

La Vie

 Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is bliss, taste it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is costly, care for it.

Life is wealth, keep it.

Life is love, enjoy it.

Life is mystery, know it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

 

 

After a few glasses of really good red wine,

a friend and I decided to translate the La Vie quote into Afrikaans.

Here is our version of it:

La Vie

 Die lewe is ’n moerse kans

Die lewe is die dood se dans;

Die lewe is ’n fuifparty

Die lewe is ’n spoelgety;

Die lewe is wel pragtig

Die lewe is ’n willewragtig;

Die lewe is ’n blye lied

Die lewe is ’n spergebied;

Die lewe is beslis begrens

Die lewe bly ’n blye wens;

Die lewe is die hart se seer

Die lewe is probeer maar weer;

Die lewe is die grys tristes

Die lewe is die runderpes;

Die lewe is ’n avontuur

Die lewe duur van uur tot uur;

Die lewe is die lewe!

(Vry vertaal uit die Frans met apologie aan Moeder Theresa) 

Click here if you want to look at all the posts

relating to my "Little Book of Inspiration".

Turning 90

It made me feel good today, that I could inspire someone else,

although I didn't feel like having any inspiration myself.  

It was card making day for Marie and me.

Her card is for someone that is getting engaged,

and mine is for my mother in law who is turning 90 tomorrow.

We took out some paper, flowers, ribbon and tools.

Both of us used the same elements.

She went for detail and layering

and

  my card was more plain and simple.

Benice arrived and added the little heart charm to

Marie's card to finish it off.

We discussed life, laughed a lot and had a few cups of tea. 

Thanks girls, I love you!



The Food at Chateau Dumas

We were treated like royalty during our stay at the Chateau Dumas with Kaari and the team from French General.

Charlotte is a chef from the UK and she made sure that we never wanted to miss a meal, not even two hours after an indulgent High Tea!!

We were fortunate to join her a few times on her visits to the local peasant (farmer) markets.

She would spoil us with the freshest ingredients

in super delicious salads and starters.

For our last dinner we even had Duck Confit that was simply to die for.

After one of our outings we were treated to a very hands-on masterclass on how to make walnut wine and french mustard, to name but a few.

How cool is that??

Elna, Lizette and I are still battling to get rid of all the extra weight we put on during our week with Lizzy, Charlotte, Christopher and the rest of the gang at the Chateau Dumas.

If this sounds like your kind of "happiness", go check out the Chateau's website for a complete list of workshops they offer.

Also go to the French General website and check for the 2013 Chateau Getaway dates due to be published very soon.

Thank you for visiting!

Hat-Making factories in France

We visited two hat-making factories as part of our French General week at Chateau Dumas.

Both are situated in the village of Septfonds.

The first is actually no longer functioning, but the owner, Guy, has a treasure trove of millinery supplies for sale.  He is, however, not very keen to part with it - which makes for some very interesting bargaining when you want to pay him!?

This is a bundle of straw hats in one of his sheds -
still waiting to be shipped (I think).

Our second stop was at a hat-making factory still in operation -

Chapeau Willy's.

I was fascinated by all the equipment used in the millinery industry.

Even though I "don't do hats", I am very tempted to attend one of the hat-making workshops at Chateau Dumas.

Thank you for visiting!