It's out! Another new collection just in time for Spring

Hi there paper lovers,

The double page layout for the Pretoria Scrapbook Society's Coming out party 
and the launch of our 'Friendship begins in the Heart' Collection - 
10 September 2016

I don't know about you, but life gets real busy when you try to grow a new business. Crazy busy, but that is a good thing, right? Since our last post in April, so much has happened. Seasons change and you realize, as life goes buy, that it is important to take note of the simple shifts in the seasons. One moment you are in a long and cold winter and slowly but surely the weather changes and you find yourself in a totally fresh and new "season". Not just in terms of weather, which I love. I can never wait to ware my summer clothing again. :) But also spiritually as well as physically. So, despite the challenges of "winter" times, we can count on God always changing the seasons and letting us move forward into new things and times. So, thankful for that.

Even though I love blogging, it has been last on my list of priorities. Nonetheless, here it is. Another post. Just to walk in the new fresh flowery season (Sneezing! Pollen season! Oh, my!) and our latest collection, Friendship begins in the heart.

We launched our latest collection at the Pretoria Scrapbook Society's first (hopefully annual) charity event on the 10th of September at the Farm Inn in Pretoria.

Click here to buy this collection.

It was a small event, but we loved every minute of it. Hard work to put any event together especially if you are as detailed as I am. Some challenges came along as they always do when you attempt to organize events. At first I was just to coordinate the event, then things changed on me and I had to also teach at the same event, meanwhile launching our second collection.

Best husband in the world! Henry, you are my ever present support! A super-dooper logistics manager. 

This girl to the right represents the true meaning of "Friendship begins in the Heart".
She has such a big and serving heart and I am so proud to be called her sister.
Surita, not just a fabulous artists but the "bestest bestie" in the world.
Can't think of a better partner. 

Luckily I am blessed with a wonderful team and everyone pulled together to make this all happen. I can just give God all the glory for this, for at times I considered getting on a jet-plane and fly off to an exotic island to stay for life. :) We all worked hard, but if was worth it. We learned so much from this little event and as always every experience, gives you more experience for the next one. Back to our main job of designing pretty paper again. :)

Our paper was received well at the event and the orders have started to flow in. Hopefully they will keep on flowing as word spreads to all the retailers. If you haven't been able to find some Ivytree Studio paper at your local retailer, make sure to let them know about our paper collections and to contact us for Retail registration.

Linda King form Kraft King - The second sponsor for the event, also a teacher and organizing team-member.
Thank you for all your hard work and your wonderful attitude throughout.
Krafty King is also one of the Ivytree Studio's registered retailers. 

Some of the lady's at the PSS event, scrapping away.

"Friends" Single page layout using the Base Element page from the new collection.
Flowers made with the Cute Cuts Flower page. Tags also from the new collection.
Accent and sewing elements cut with Silhouette cameo from our 240gsm white cardstock.

Back to work on our next collection coming soon. In the meantime, if you want to get your hands on our new collection, pop on over to our online store where we have loaded it for the general public as well as for registered retailers. 

Have a happy and full Spring and Summer season ahead. Remember to make memories and then scrapbook them.

Mona Lisa's smile took time!

Dear paper lovers,

Our very first and brand new paper collection is in its final stages before the big launch. You will only be able to buy it, once the price is loaded in the shop. This will happen soon.

As it is with all things art and creative, it has its own time. The process of design is a back and forth of deciding on just the right color and sourcing the exact right paper for the design. What we learn in this process is valuable and shapes what we will keep doing in the future. For us, quality and doing it right, is just as important as the creative art behind it all. Excellence is our motto!

But it requires on big thing: PATIENCE! Oh, and don't we all just struggle with this concept. I know I do. In my nature I want to make art that is current and new and quick so I can see immediate results, but true art takes time and this pushes my limits so I can grow and I am perfectly fine with it.

The other day I watched a National Geographic show on DSTV about Leonardo Davinci's process painting the Mona Lisa. Wow, what a painstakingly detailed process that required immense patience. He would add a little pigment of color to oil and layer it on to her, one layer at a time. A very clever Frenchman recently designed a special camera to be able to capture all these layers to show us just what this process looked like. Davinci is known for this process and this is his outstanding accomplishment. No one has ever been able to really duplicate it. So, it is all worth it.

What I took from this is, is be true to your own self and the process you feel you need to follow when creating something that is unique to you. In the end, that adds diversity to the world out there. People want what is new and fresh, but I also think they want the story behind it and they want it to be different. To get to different, we need to keep on keeping on. Do the work, Follow trends and create your own trend. Bring different to the table. Well, this may just take some time. So, in order for us to bring you our new paper collection, a truly South African product, locally produced, we need to put in the work it will take and that is exactly what we are doing.

So, maybe we wont be able to launch it just yet, but we are close, so very close.

We have a couple of things in the making, that we hope you fellow paper lovers out there will like and be able to use in your own art journey.

In the meantime, while you await our reveals, you are welcome to write to us and share your wish list in terms of what you feel is lacking in our local artsy and paper/memory-keeping/scrapbooking market. What is it that we wished we could get our hands on locally? I personally don't want the stuff I see online that come from other countries. I want what is local and will represent my culture and kind. So, let us know what it is you would like to see in terms of paper design and products to accompany it. We may just work it into our own design process and give you the products you dream of.

PS: if you view our paper collection online on our website, you may later notice that we are moving towards a more pinkish/blueish color-scheme than the orange/greenish colors you may see in the current images we shared online. The process of getting what you see on your computer screen to come out exactly in the printing of the final product, is causing us to tinker with it a little more to get it closer to the intended color-scheme. We plan to update the images as soon as we are ready. 

In the next post, I will share with you more about the color-scheme and where and when you can place orders for this collection.

Also look out for our post on Archival friendly Paper for your memory-keeping.

Paper lovers,in the mood for something new?

Hello there to all the paper lovers out there!

A little birdie flew through our window today and told us to spread the word!

I am so excited about what is going on in our little design studio. Working hard on our first paper collection and it is almost perfect. Just a couple of finishing touches before we launch it.

I was thinking that maybe you would like a little sneak preview of what will be in this new collection.

We are calling it the "Hadeda Garden Collection". It consists of 30 double sided sheets with 15 various designs in 4 different color combinations on 12"x12", 160gm cardstock.

....and as if that's not enough, we are adding two double sided sheets of pretty pocket cards...

...oh, and as an extra bonus, we are also adding two, yes TWO sheets of element stickers!

This is the cover page:

Here is a little sampler of the finished product:

So, if any of you lovely paper fanatics are interested in our product, drop us a note. You can go to our website and complete the contact form or send us an email.

Can't wait to share the Hadeda Garden Collection with the world!

Keep coming back to see what's new.