Christmas prep 2012 - Cookie tins

Good morning Bloglanders

It's a horrible, windy day in sunny SA and I don't even want to venture outside to hang my washing.  Well, more time to think up crafts.

I give SMALL, homemade pressies but I divide them into 4 categories -

1. Family - this I plan individually according to different tastes and needs.
2. Good friend pressies - these are my faves.  I really try to give something special and handmade because
    I   know all of them will become cherished possessions.
3. Neighbor gifts - I have already shared the 2012 version of this yesterday. If you missed it just scroll down
    or get it from the archives in the right hand column. For this I do something useful and universal.
4. Older people gifts - these goes to people who are in old age homes or are struggling financially.
    Normally I give something like home baked cookies, a jar of newly made jam nicely packed.

Without further ado - 2012's categories 4 pressies:

I recycled used coffee tins, wrapped it in copied music paper, added a ribbon and a few die cuts.  I love the reindeer die as well as the paint sample cards. That was easy.  I plan to bake the cookies next week - want them to be freshly baked and crisp when they reach their destinations.

This one was done in the color combo of The Play Date Cafe:

These are not colors that I would normally choose but this is what joining in a challenge is about - getting inspiration and trying something new. And the inspiration:

Just click here to hop over and see what the rest of Blogland did.

That's it from me. Have a wonderful weekend and please come back to play as I'll be sharing some more crafting fun right here on Play as U Go.

Hazel
xXx

 

Christmas prep 2012 - Neighbor gifts

Good morning Bloglanders

My jam is nearly done but I did make some time to do some crafting towards my Xmas 2012 prep.  Usually I give little pressies to all my neighbors.  In short I give lots of little Xmas pressies - but different ones for different people.  I'll be sharing the others later but today we will cover the neighbors.  I try to think of something universal, small and useful.  This year I decided upon a vanilla pod - YES!!! One Vanilla pod!

This is what the finished product looks like:

I bought them already packed individually into small glass tubes.  The rest was easy peasy.  I did a double landscape 4x6 Photoshop layout for both sides, printed it onto white cardstock, punched a hole for the tube to peek out and tied it with some twine from The Twinery.  I've taken some more pic's if you want the inside info:

Still think one vanilla pod is a bit skimpy?  I even added a tried and tested recipe for Creme Anglaise to the inside of the card.  Remember my DIY washi tape that I shared here. I used it to stick the glass tube to the inside of my card. I couldn't get any green washi tape to match the stickers on the tubes so I made my own from tissue paper.

Now for something that made me smile.  I did the whole thing and then checked the Color Throwdown's weekly color combo:

What can I say - Creative minds think alike! Don't you just love the color Limeade.  To me it sounds like lime with some extra zing.

Please hop over to The Color Throwdown to see what the rest of Blogland did with the same color scheme. Just click here.

Well, that's it from me.  I hope you are having a Terrific Thursday.  Please come back to play as I'll be sharing more of my creative life right here with you.

Hazel

xXx





Dankie 2012

Good morning Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Wacky Wednesday!  Once again, a beautiful day in Sunny SA.  Today I'll be cooking apricot jam and therefor will not be doing any Xmas prep.  The smell of jam means SUMMER to me.  But, I did bring a project to share:

In a previous post I told you that I do MY LIFE MY WAY and this is part of it.  For 10 days before Thanksgiving, (we don't celebrate it in SA but IMPERFECT me does!) I start journaling on cards about things I'm thankful for in the current year.  This goes into my plastic tub system. One for blank cards and one for used ones.  Whenever I get the time, I either convert this to a mini book and / or a layout.  This year I wanted a girly page but as I don't own anything pink, (men, men, men) it once again turned out multi colored - IMPERFECT ME loves it when things don't turn out according to plan.

I made my own title as I had some left over space on my paper while printing my pictures.  As I'm Afrikaans, I try to journal and do titles in my home language.  "Dankie" means "to be thankful for".

And I have done some close ups as well:

The front page is actually double which means that it forms a pocket into which I inserted some more journaling cards.  I finished it off with a tab cut out of my only piece of pinkish paper. I didn't plan for the page to be double but as I didn't like the reverse of the paper, I came up with a practical solution and it turned out perfectly.

I just love the butterfly:

I really, really love the MME dimensional stickers - such a pity its such a mission to get hold of them in Sunny SA.

All my paper came from different MME collections. As I said before - I use what I have in my stash.  Some are rather old but I still love combining them. I'll be submitting my "DANKIE 2012" mini book for the MME November Gratitude challenge.  If you want to see what the rest of Blogland did, just click here.

That's it from me.  I'll be back tomorrow to share some more crafting fun and please come back to play as I'll be sharing the inside pages of my "DANKIE 2012" mini book right here on Play as U Go.

Have a great Wednesday.

Hazel

xXx

Christmas prep 2012 - DIY Jewellery bags

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you are having a terrific Tuesday.  It is a wonderful, sunny day in Stellenbosch.  I picked up some apricots this morning and will be cooking some jam tomorrow.  My husband just loves apricot jam and I have to cook quite a lot to get him through a year of cheese and jam sames.

This is what I did yesterday:

I made these little jewellery bags for the girls in my life.  You know that I don't knit or crochet but these little flowers and leaves are easy enough to make yourself. Normally when we go somewhere, I'll pack crochet  or knitting needles and keep my hands occupied whenever I feel artistic.  This means that I have a whole stash of flowers and leaves that I use whenever a bit of bling is needed. I bought the bag - they are so cheap that it is not worth my while and money to make them myself  but you can make them yourself if you prefer.

I'll be doing 10 of these and this was the first one on my production line.  The colors came from The Play Date Cafe.

I don't normally use pink (being surrounded by men) but since the beginning of this year it's been growing on me.  I love the washed out look of this combo and plan to do some more pressies in the same colors.  Please hop over to TPDC to see what the other entries look like. Just click here.

I'm off to have a walk in the park and then onto some more Xmas decor. Please come back to play as I'll be sharing some crafting fun right here on Play as U Go. Have a great day!

Christmas prep 2012 - DIY Christmas balls

Hi there Bloglanders

I'm back to share my Xmas 2012 preparations. Normally, I  start the 20th of November and try to get most of my stuff up on the 1st of December. That means that I have lots of time to enjoy the extra time with my family and our beautiful summery weather during December.  May I remind you that in sunny SA we have the end of our school year now and that means that everyone gets into a holiday mood that is very hard to resist.

My second project is DIY Christmas balls.  And this is what they look like:

I came upon the idea when a 6 year old came over and I wanted to give her something creative to do. You can be sure - this is perfect to keep little hands busy and you will end up with wonderful decorations for your tree / table.  I have done a few of them in red but as it's summer, I felt that a bit of limeade would cool down my color palet.  My inspiration came from the Color Throwdown:

I'm sure you can figure out how to make them yourself but here it my tips anyway:

You will need:

A styrofoam ball, pins, a punch, ribbon and beads.  I don't normally buy paper punches but had this one from years gone by. I'm sure you can use circles / starbursts / stars - use what you have in your stash.

Punch out the flowers.  (I used about a quarter of a 12x12 page for a 2.5 inch ball) Just a tip - if you use thin paper like wrapping paper, I punched through more than one layer at a time - it just worked better with my punch.

First of all fold 6 inches of ribbon double.  If you don't want to hang your ball, you can skip this step.

Now thread a bead onto a pin, then a flower and then the open end of your ribbon. The whole stack goes into your styrofoam ball. And that's it - you just keep stacking and sticking until the ball is totally covered. Easy peasy!

My pins came from a stationary shop because they are much cheaper there but you can use whatever you have at hand.  If you use pins with colored heads, you can skip the beads.

You can also use pages from old magazines but it looks better if you use the same color - I have tried painted pages and even spray painted office paper - it works perfectly.

That's it from me. Please come back to play as I'll be sharing more crafting fun right here on Play as U Go. Have a great day!

Hazel
xXx

Christmas prep 2012 - Advent Calender

Good morning Bloglanders

I've been up early. Checking on the craft fair stock - everything seems to go according to plan. I will have to do some more mini books for the weekend rush.

Meanwhile, as promised my first prep item for the 2012 Christmas decor - the Advent Calender:

I've used little tins from Making Memories. Normally I put my costume jewelery in them on the inside of my wardrobe door. They are magnetic - I only painted the area where they must go with black magnetic paint and ta da - done! Inside I have circles of scrapbook offcuts (not even everything is Christmassy), numbers that I got as a freebie on Pinterest, a little ornament and an idea of goodwill. Just click here if you want to see the printable that I've used. I don't have small children  anymore so I decided to focus on goodwill and not the treats that you normally get in an advent calender.  It would work just as well if you put a lucky number in every tin that children can then redeem for a favor or a treat. Every day the small ornament will be added to our Christmas tree every day.

I just love the interactiveness of it!  I have previously tried the same idea with tomato paste tins and it works perfectly.  You just have to add a magnet to the back and it doesn't have the nice see through lid that the Making Memories tins have.

That's it from me - I have some more orders to finish (jippee - again!) and of course my office admin got behind while working on the shop items.

Have a fabulous Friday and please come back to check out some more of my Xmas crafts.

So sorry!

Hallo Bloglanders

To all my friends celebrating Thanksgiving - ENJOY!  Another one of the things we don't do in Sunny SA.

I'm so sorry for neglecting you.  My uncle died and I just had a lot on my mind.  Now I'm back to share my Xmas prep with you.  I will start tomorrow and try to get everything done by December 1st.

But first - this is what I've been up to:

I had to do 300 units of 5 different designs!! About half went to a craft fair and the rest were orders.  I can't decide what is worse - making 300 of the same design or packing and mailing everything off.  I shouldn't complain as it is actually a lot of fun and I love wrapping every parcel for it's new owner. Some goes to children and I love doing them.  Anyway, I kept one for myself and it's being utilized as my camera bag. People are stopping me everywhere to ask where I got the cute bag and so I end up with more orders!

Now for something totally different:

I thought I should also tell you why I blog.  For the past 5 years I've been doing 52 projects a year.  Making new curtains, a home made gift, slip covering chairs, handmade cards and lots of other hybrid crafting stuff.  I've been taking pictures, printing it out and pasting it into notebooks with dates and journaling.  So, at the beginning of this year I decided that while I'm doing it anyway, I can just as well blog about it and maybe there will be Bloglanders out there that would find it interesting. The additional benefit will be that I can print all my blog posts and it will be a book for my coffee table. That will be my first project for 2013.

The result of my blogging is that I've already done more than 150 projects and that more than 5000 people actually read what I do.  OK, some projects are really small but in the past I left them as they seemed insignificant and now I see that I actually enjoy them a lot and it keeps the creativity going. Also, I've made lots and lots of new Blogland friends who help, inspire and support.  Without you, my friends, I would have given up after a week.  I really learned a lot.  My computer skills developed X10 and where my children actually ran away when they saw me coming (because I had a list of questions) - they ask my advise now! (OK, just sometimes but still!)

I do a lot of Photoshop stuff because my home language is Afrikaans and most titles, journaling prompts and embellishments are in English - I just end up making my own.  In future I plan to share this right here on my blog and yes, I'll do an English version as well. I also plan to develop my photo taking skills as they are awful but that will go onto the 2013 list as well.  And last but not the least I will be taking pictures and sharing patterns as I go. I have to do them anyway - can just as well let somebody else benefit from them. Another first for me - I've started MY LIFE MY WAY. Kind of Project Life but just the IMPERFECT ME version!  Of course I'll share with you - my life stories and the downloads.

That's it from me. Thanks for being my friends.  I'm off - there are still stuff to learn, places to go, things to do and friends to meet.  Bring it on!

Hazel
XXX

Happy Anniversary

Good morning Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Wacky Wednesday!  I'm still snowed under, the boys are both writing final exams and I don't know whether I should help / pray / cry. I think it's time for a holiday!  Well, no time for that right now.

Today I'm sharing a mini notebook that I made a while ago for a friend's anniversary. I love giving small, handmade pressies. After all - it's the idea that counts. This is what it looked like:

I used a bookpage from a soppy novel to cover the front, added a bit of twine from The Twinery and a felt heart.  Packed inside a glassine envelope with some washi tape and a tag. Done! I think I'll make some more as stocking fillers.  It's so easy.

I've also started on some Xmas pressies for the men in my life - stickers for their books.  I've seen them in English but never in Afrikaans so I made my own.

I have printed them onto self adhesive stickers and will be packing them in little tins. I'll figure out how to share a pdf file with you and then you can make some of your own.

That's it from me for today. Enjoy your day and please come back to play.

Hazel

Mug jersey / The Play Date Cafe

Good morning Bloglanders

I hope you had a wacky weekend!  I just love color.  I keep my pens out on my desk, my knitting needles in a see through jar, my rolls of tread on a tray because I love to look at them. Not that I do knitting - that's the one thing that I only do if all else fails.

So, when all else failed, I decided to knit a jersey for the enamel mug on my desk which holds my pens.  And this is what it looks like now:

I actually want to use it to serve cheese straws or bread sticks at a real South African braai but in the meantime, it looks pretty fab out on my desk.  I love purple and therefor, loved this weeks color combo from The Play Date Cafe.  Here it is:

And a close up of my crochet flowers:

If you want to hop over to The Play Date Cafe to check out the other entries, just click here.

That's it from me. Have a marvellous Monday and please come back to play as I'll be sharing some more crafting fun right here on Play as U Go.

Color Throwdown

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you are having a fabulous Friday.  I had a hectic week and can't wait to kick up my heels and relax!  BUT, before I go - I'm here to share my project for this week's Color Throwdown:

The stamp is from Technique Tuesday and I just love the "old school charm".  The inspiration for the challenge looks like this:

While you are hopping around, please hop over and see the rest of the entries. Just click here.

I made a notebook as well and it looks really great but the picture I took, is terrible.  Sorry about that and when I get around to it, I'll re do it - in the meantime, here is a peek:



I plan to give sets with a notebook, some tags, envelopes and a few cards all boxed up and wrapped in pretty paper for Christmas gifts to friends and family.  Sounds good to me!

Please come back to play as I'll be sharing some more crafting fun right here.  Have a great weekend!

DIY Washi Tape

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you are having a thunderous Thursday!  I know that I am - while walking in the park my overlocker started sewing on its own and when I got back after an hour, it was totally jammed.  I had to take it to the technician in Somerset West and am anxiously awaiting a quote for the repair.  Now I've seen it all - a "runaway" overlocker!

Yesterday I told you how I do my daily journaling books.  Currently I'm finishing off last year's DD.  This system really works for me.  All my journaling cards are in chronological order and my pictures printed.  I just have to bind them together and it's done. The best part is that I get to re-live last year's festive season and this gets me into the spirit to start on this one.  While sorting through the journaling cards, I came upon this one with home made Washi tape.

You might find this weird as Washi tape is readily available but may I remind you that I'm from sunny SA and up to July this year I couldn't find a single roll locally!  So, this is what I did to make my home made Washi tape:
Stick double sided tape to the back of tissue paper. Leave the peel back strip of the double sided tape on.
Cut the tissue paper the width of the double sided tape.
Peel back the backing of the adhesive strip and position your "tape" on your project.
Easy Peasy!
Just a tip: Start your double sided tape before the edge of the tissue paper.  This is the perfect place to start peeling back your home made washi tape.

Washi tape my IMPERFECT way!

That's it from me. Back to my shop orders.  Please come back to play as I'll be sharing some more crafting fun right here on Play as U Go.

Gratitude made Easy

Hallo Bloglanders

In Sunny SA we don't do things like the rest of the world.  I've already told you that we don't do Halloween but we don't do Thanksgiving either! 

A few years ago I invested in a Gratitude journal from Monika Wright's Etsy shop and I try to record something positive every day.  If I don't get to it - no sweat but since I started, I have developed a habit of seeing the positive in small things around me. I do tend to let silly things get the better of me but if I page through my Gratitude journal, I see the cloud's silver lining again.  Now, this is what I'll be doing towards Gratitude for the two weeks up to Thanksgiving:

I've selected stuff from my stash and will be writing on a journaling card every day.  My system is quite simple - I keep all the blank cards in one container and once they are done, I move them to the second one.  I do this for my December Daily as well. Like this:

I still haven't decided whether this will become a mini book / if I'll incorporate it in a layout or just glue it into my Gratitude journal but as I've started  "My life, My way" on 1 November - either way, it will eventually end up in my album.  I'll be using my "printy dater" as I really don't have the time right now to make tabs or to get my stamping equipment out.

The two containers fit into one another and sits on my desk with finished cards in the bottom one and the unused ones on top ready to be filled out.

Why don't you join me in recording all the positive things in your life?  I'll be back here to share more of my stuff with you. Please come back to play!

Some more wine bags

Hallo Bloglanders

I told you yesterday that I'll be making some more wine bags for my wrapping station. Yes!  I do keep stuff ready for wrapping anything from buttons to wine and boxes of cookies. Whenever I have my tools out, I do some extra stamping, die cutting and sewing and when I need to pack something in a hurry, it's all there.  Here is a pic of the rest of the bags:

And the cards to go with:

Whenever I need one, I only have to add a sentiment and write the message. Normally I don't do earthy colors like these but The Play Date Cafe inspired me to try them and I love their "manly" look. I think my rosette stamp is from Jenny Bowlin, the die cut from Cottage Cutz and the little dove from Papertrey Inc.  I don't keep my stamps and dies in their packaging because it is not really important to me and therefor I can't track them back. Sorry about that! Maybe I should share my system some time. It really works for me.

I'm off to my Etsy order. Hopefully everything will be done by the weekend.  That's it from me. Please come back to play as I'll be sharing some more crafting fun right here on Play as U Go.

Hazel

PS. The minute my orders are in the mail, I'm starting on my Xmas decor! You don't want to miss out.



And I did it again!

Hallo Bloglanders

And I forgot to post on my blog on Friday! Again!  Maybe I'm just too busy but everything will soon wind down and hopefulle I'll get back into my daily routine.  Sorry about that.

I've already mentioned that my hubby and I are winemakers and therefor we give a lot of wine as thank you gifts or even as Christmas and birthday pressies. To give wine in a box just looks awful so I came up with the idea to dress even our wine bottles!

This is what I've done:

I've used scraps of organza left over from other projects to make the "dress" and then added a dimentional card. Here is a close up of the label:

And I just love this picture:

Organza just gives that bit of bling to every project.  For inspiration, I've used the colors from The Play Date Cafe.  Hop over there and have a look. Just click here. And for those of you who are in a hurry / lazy / snowed under (like me), here is the "mood board" they supplied:

Enjoy the rest of your day and please come back to play! I'll be showing the wine bottle family tomorrow.

Another Layout.

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you are having a wonderful Thursday. Only one day to go before the weekend!  Can you believe that I've been so busy with my shop orders that I totally forgot to blog.  Since February this year, I got up every morning and wrote a post while my husband made us some coffee.  By the time he has finished the coffee, I've wrapped up my post and we have a chat while we drink it - in summer outside on the "stoep" and in winter snuggled up on the couch.

You might think that I do quick posts but that's not the case - we make real coffee - grind the beans and use a red enamel pot with a fabric bag.  We have tried everything and this works best for us.  Maybe I should do a layout about our good old coffee pot. That's for another day.

I normally do layouts whenever they happen - I'm an album maker and not a real scrapper.  Some time ago I noticed that I have pictures of myself in front of the Eiffel Tower taken in the 80's, 90's and 00's and as I totally love France, I made this layout:

OK, this is not the whole story. Actually, I wanted to convince my hubby that it's time for another visit to the city of  love.  Maybe next year.  While making this layout, I re-lived every visit and it was wonderful. In the middle is one taken in 1999 with the countdown to 2000 on the tower.  That's what I love about scrapping - the memories makes you smile. In 1999 Pieter was only 10 years old and in the same year Wernich's mom died and he came to live with us shortly afterwards.

There I go again!  You see, I just loved to do this layout.

That's it from me.  Enjoy the rest of your day and it's back to my sewing machine for me.  Please come back to play as I'll be sharing more of my crafting fun right here. (and the stories behind them.)