I Love Sewing

Hi there Bloglanders

Yes! I know I didn't get to blogging for the past two days but I've been very busy. Normally I don't show my sewing projects but as this blog is mine and sewing is one of my biggest passions I decided to change all that.

For the past two weeks I've been making a wedding dress, bridesmaid's dresses, a dress for the maid of honour and an outfit for the mother of the groom.  That's a lot don't you think???  Well, it is a lot. For each bridesmaid's dress I used 12 meters of tulle and I made five of them.  I actually had to buy rolls of tulle as my local fabric store was not prepared to measure it out by hand - the rolls get measured on a machine.

I can show you one of the bridesmaid's dresses as I don't think the bride would be impressed with me if her wedding dress floats around blogland prior to her walking down the isle. Her it is:

The bride is still thinking about adding a red sash to the middle but I just love the simplicity of it as it is. Believe me the little girls look like powder puffs in these.  They will be barefoot with ribbons and bells around their ankles and posies of red flowers for their hands.  Little white Jasmine flowers will be braided into their long, curly hair. I can't wait to see the final result.

I'm sure the bride will forward some pictures for me to put on my Blog. After the wedding  I'll show pictures of the other dresses.  So, I've been a busy little bee.

Not my normal sort of post but thanks for visiting and sharing in my crafting fun. 

Have a Wacky Wednesday and please come back to play on Play as U Go.

My Passions

Hi there Bloglanders

While hopping along Blogland for my daily dose of  inspiration, I came upon a challenge from "another-freaking-scrappy-challenge".  Scrap your passions.  I normally only use Afrikaans in my titles so my first problem was - a decent word for Passion in Afrikaans. I couldn't come up with any.  "Liefde" (Love) was the best I could do but that doesn't sound as passionate as "Passion".

Second problem - I have a lot of passions. I sew, I bake, I cook, I read, I love my home, I love my family and the list continues into infinity.

Third problem - what to use and what to leave out.

Fourth problem - I'm really busy right now and just don't have to sort through pictures and have them printed. Remember, I'm from Sunny SA - African time applies here.

So I came up with this:

I used a quote as a title as I don't mind them being English - most of them are anyway.  Then I divided me passions into categories, journalled a bit about each and printed it vellum, tore the edges and glued them into a square.  As I keep all my left over pictures in a bin, I went through them and chose some that represent my passions.  I didn't cover them all but I used what I had.  I'm proud to say that I didn't have to pay for anything used on this page.

As part of my philosophy to "Live Light" in 2013  I plan to do more pages like this where I only use what I already have.

That's it. Have a wonderful week and thanks for visiting. Please come back to play as I'll be sharing some more of my crafting fun right here on Play as U Go.

DIY Key holder with Twine Balls

Hi there Bloglanders

Finally it's Friday and time to kick up your heels and do something special for yourself!  As promised, I'm sharing my contribution for The Play Date Cafe color challenge of the week. Some more Twine balls:

This time I decorated my keyring with Twine balls and a tassel.  And it was so easy to make - all the things I used came from my stash. As always, I used Twine from The Twinery. Here is the color combo from The Play Date Cafe that inspired me:

And now for those of you who read yesterday's post where I made twine balls for a necklace - I promised to share with you how I did it.  Here it is"

See - nothing special! You just have to take a new look at old things in your stash.  

That's it from me. I'll be back to share more of my crafting fun with you right here on Play as U Go. Thanks for visiting and please come back.

Let's Polka ..............Dot

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Terrific Thursday. Once again my post is a bit late but my husband is away on business and I have to do his part for house, home, office and family as well.  Another thing, I still feel slightly depressed and just can't get going.  I know children should leave home at some stage BUT it is a HUGE thing having no one to worry about - let's rephrase that - you still worry, you just don't see that they are OK on a daily basis.

So, I came up with a plan.  Every day, I hop around Blogland for about half an hour or page through a magazine and choose something I'll try that day. At least it keeps my mind off the empty nest for a while. Sometimes it's a new recipe, a sewing project, a card, a layout or a hybrid project - anything that takes my fancy.

Today I've been inspired by The Twinery's challenge "Let's Polka ........................ Dot".  I stumbled upon it at Monika Wright's blog and then followed her link.  If you want to hop over and look, just click here.

I made this necklace for the challenge
:

My balls are about 1 inch each and I used about 3 meters (sorry, will have to look up the conversion to yards some time soon) of twine to cover each of them. Now, you might think that's easy but this idea kept my brain busy for more than a few minutes as it is impossible to thread that amount of twine through the hole in a bead. I came up with the perfect solution BUT that I'll only reveal tomorrow as I would love you to come back to play here on my Blog.

I'll be using the same concept for The Play Date Cafe challenge of the week and will take pictures to share exactly what I did.  If you can guess, leave me a comment and your contact details and I'll send you a pressie if you're right. You have until tomorrow's post to figure it out!

That's it from me. I'm off to do some more Twine balls. Have a great day and Let's Polka .............Dot!

Use your Stash

Hi there Bloglanders

Yesterday while taking a break from my dressmaking, I hopped over to Write.Click.Scrapbook where Amy Coose is hosting a week of  "use your stash". She challenged everyone to come up with a project using at least 3 old products.

My fellow South Africans will remember that Creative Memories was the "first" company accessible to most scrapbookers as they did direct sales.  So, in 2005 I started out with my first go at scrapbooking via my neighbour, Sandra who used to be a consultant. Since then, Creative Memories left Sunny SA, my neighbour now sells houses and I'm still stuck with some of the unused products in my stash.  So I came up with these little birdhouses - 99 percent old stash!  The Twine is the only thing new that I've used.

Here they are:

I'm getting into an Easter mood and as most of my existing home decor is in pastels - I decided to keep the color combo. I got the template for the birdhouses here, printed them onto sturdy, white, A4 paper, cut it out and glued it onto the unprinted side of my old paper. Yes, these products are from times when paper were single sided! Once again I cut around, folded on the fold lines and glued the house together.  In the tutorial that I used, the roof and base was done with a die but as I didn't have these, I cut it with my scissors. For the base I've used a 3.5cm square and for the roof a 10 x 4.5cm piece of corrugated carton (ex many, many moons ago as well).  I've made a hole in the middle of the roof and in the base as I'll probably convert my little birdhouses to wall art. At this stage I've threaded some twine through the roof.

I'll be making more of  these as I still have a lot of paper left. See!

Please come back to my blog as I'll be sharing pictures and tips as I progress and of course, you'll be the first ones to see what my final project looks like.  In the meantime, if you have a stash like mine of old, unused goods, hop over to Write.Click.Scrapbook for some inspiration. Just click here.

That's it from me. Have a Wacky Wednesday and please come back to play.

Bracelet / The Play Date Cafe

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you are having a marvellous Monday!  The flower girl dresses are nearly finished and if I may say so myself, they look adorable.  I'll take a picture tomorrow and share with you. I've used more than 30 meters of tulle already!

I always try to sneak in a bit of creativity as all work and no play makes Hazel a dull girl. So, I made this:

I love bracelets and wear them all the time. Currently it is very hot in Sunny SA so I opted for these cool, ice cream coloured ribbon, sting and a little silver cross recycled from another project. When I had to go into town earlier today,  I just had to put it on.  There you have it. My quick project to keep the creative juices going.

What inspired me?

The Play Date Cafe. Of course!  Hop over to their blog and see what the rest of  Blogland did with the same color scheme. Still like my bracelet best!

Have a great day and thanks for coming to play. Please check back as I have a lot more to share.

And the Last of the Valentines

 Hi there Bloglanders

It's Sunday evening in Sunny South Africa and once again we had a wonderful, summery day.  I always try to plan my week on a Sunday evening and then I can't get to sleep as the anticipation of everything that must get done, is too much.

Except for the TO DO lists, I try to make a list of something I'll do for:
Myself
My family
My home / garden
Somebody else
Towards my "career"

Then, when I start a new week's list, I'll page back to the previous Sunday and make in note of what exactly I did towards every category. Some get done, some don't but at least I get to see the progress. So, when I marked down last week's list, I  remembered that I didn't share my Valentine's day gifts to the neighbourhood kids. Remember, I told you I gave 2 variants this year - one with a stamp pad and a stamp and these mini stationary sets:

This is what is inside:

Mini envelopes, mini cards, some labels and little punched out hearts. I've only used scraps left from other projects and my stash of stamps - I just love stamping! At least I get to play with my toys.

There you have it - and back to the week's planning for me. At least now I can mark off something done for somebody else as well.

Thanks for visiting my blog.  Please come back to play as I'll be sharing some more crafting project right here on Play as U Go.

Happy Valentine's day

Hi there Bloglanders

Dinner is in the oven, my glass of Sauvignon Blanc is poured and ready to drink, candles and my red polka dot tablecloth -  Valentine's day it is!

This year I just didn't get down to crafting well in advance and I'm sorry to say but I totally forgot to take pictures of most of my goodies and when I did - it was the iPhone.  I really wonder if I would still own a camera in 10 years time.  I just love the iPhone pictures!

Well, this is what the men in my life received:

I bought "biltong" from my butcher and had it packed in three individual packs - yes!! It came in the craft bags  So, I just added the heart banner and a sentiment.  For my non-South African Bloglanders: "biltong" is dried meat and South African men just love rugby, biltong and a braai (barbecue).  This is how I did it:

I punched little hearts out of scrap paper, glued it onto some twine and wrapped it around my craft bags.  Very easy!  Wernich just called to thank me for his as it was included in his goodie bag which was sent off earlier this week.

I ordered large bunched of red roses for the girlfriends on behalf of the boys - you can never have enough brownie points with children and I want them to bring my grandchildren to visit. (a lot!)

For the neighbourhood children I decided to do glassine envelopes with rubber stamps and mini ink pads.  I did the same for Xmas for some and they loved it so much that I decided to make some for those who missed out last year.  My picture is actually the Xmas batch as I forgot to take one last night before the "postman" did his rounds. Sorry about that.

Once again I stitched it shut and added a paper heart to pretty things up. I actually love to give craft supplies.

That's it from me - I still have to deliver some goodies and dinner will be served in half an hour!  Enjoy your V-DAY. Thanks for visiting my blog. Please come back to play.

Mini mini Envelopes for Valentine's Day

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Terrific Tuesday.  The wedding dress fits perfectly, my office admin is up to date and Wernich's goodie bag is on its way to Bloemfontein.  Now for the flower girls!

Yesterday, I showed you my mini, mini cards. If you have missed them, just scroll down.  If you came here via a link, hit HOME at the top of the screen and then do the same.  Sometimes when a note is personal, I like to put it in an envelope and this is what I made for that purpose:

One set will go to a friend as a pressie and I plan to do some more to add to my weekly tag collection as this will work just as well. Here is a another picture of the envelopes:

And where did my color inspiration come from?

The paper that I've used is from a very, very old pack (before they made them double sided). I had it in my stash and when I saw the color combo, I immediately got it out. Of course I had to glue two sheets together to make them double sided but it turned out so well that I'm up for some more. And yesterday's mini, mini notes  goes so well with these colors.  Check it out!

While everything is out, I think I'll do some mini, mini cards and envelopes for Wynand, Pieter and the daughter in law's as well - tomorrow I'll show what went into Wernich's goodie bag for Valentine's day.

That's it. 2 x flower girl dresses to go.

Have a great day. Thanks for looking and please come back to play.

Valentine's Day

Hi there Bloglanders

I'm limiting my Bloglanding as I've got a lot on my plate.  The wedding dress is being finished off, I'm working on the dresses for the flower girls and I still have the one for the maid of  honor to do.  This week, I'll get it done even if I have to sleep in front of my sewing machine. The office is busy and I'm sending a surprise  goodie bag to Wernich tomorrow. A lot to do!

As Valentine's day is around the corner I have made some mini mini cards for friends, neighbours and the children I know.  I will add a little chocolate on Wednesday and deliver them to the various mail boxes. This is what they look like:

I have used the Color Throwdown for inspiration. You can hop over by clicking here. And for the lazy ones - this is what their inspiration looks like:

The man and woman stamp is from Amy Tangerine and the rest from Hero Arts. (mix and match elements) I just love all the stamps in this set.  All the paper was offcuts that I had in my stash. Tomorrow I'll share some more of my Valentine's day goodies.  I really try to keep it simple as it is the thought that counts and not the amount of money you spend.

Have a great Monday and thanks for coming to play. Please check back as I'll be sharing some more crafting fun right here on Play as U Go.

Welcome new baby girl.

Good morning Bloglanders

I'm off to the west coast of Sunny South Africa for a few days as Wynand has business there and I have decided to join him as all the children have their own lives now and it's time that I claim mine back as well.  I just love the west coast - stormy seas and wonderful summer weather all year round.

Before I go - this is what I did this week:

I've made these "Ballerina bags" before but this is my first "pink attempt".  They do look like candyfloss! We have our own business and whenever one of our clients have a baby, we deliver a goodie bag.  This is IT for the baby girls for the rest of the year:

I love giving something handmade.  To this I'll add a soft toy, a gift card and something for the new mum.  I try to give small and useful things like a Kit Kat with a message "take a brake, have a Kit Kat" and for the dad - Red Bull!!! With that sorted, I have to start packing for my few days at the beach.

I hope you have a great week and I'll be posting my "tag effort of the week" over the weekend.  There are 5 layouts on my craft desk as well - we will see what gets done first.

Thanks for coming out to play and please check back!  I love playmates.

April showers bring spring flowers

Hi there Bloglanders

Time for my art journaling of the week:

APRIL SHOWERS BRING SPRING FLOWERS. I'm not sure if this is for Sunny SA or if it's universal but we get our early winter rains in April (Western Cape where I live) and then we have the most beautiful spring flowers. Especially Namakwaland where I come from, is beautiful during September.  I'll get hold of a picture and put it in my post tomorrow for you to see.

I thought it appropriate as I still miss my son who left last week for university 1000 kilometres away. BUT in the end it is what he wants to do and what I'll have to get used to.  I raised them to be independent - to follow his dreams and even if it's hard now, the spring flowers will make it worth my while.

As I already had everything out, I used the same die cuts and stamps as yesterday (will do tags with them as well, LOVE it!). This time I painted the background with watercolor, stamped all over, added a border and my coloured die cuts. SO easy and I love the result!  I'll be adding some more journaling as I want to capture the moment of my son leaving home - especially the rest of the family making such an effort to ease my "pain". Then it will go into my album.

The colors are perfect for The Play Date Cafe. Look at their inspiration:

I haven't forgotten about the sneak peak of the wedding dress that I've promised BUT it's a bit hectic right now in the office and I really don't have time for the dress. I will catch up in all earnest later today and tomorrow!  I PROMISE, I'll share!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog and for those of you sending me personal messages when my son left - I'll answer each and every one personally as I really appreciate it.  Please come back to play at Play as U Go as I'll be sharing more crafting fun right here.

Have a Terrific Tuesday!

Thank you for being a friend

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you are having a sunny yellow Monday!  My house is still very quiet but I'm keeping busy.

My friend Anel puts pictures of her best friends and family in her Bible.  She doesn't scrap but I'm sure her page will win a few accolades for the biggest amount of pictures in the smallest space.  So, when she saw my family photo on the blog, she wanted one ASAP and as her husband is having an operation in Stellenbosch this week, I thought I'd visit and cheer her up. This is what the card looks like:

I used this color combo from The Color Throwdown as inspiration:

And a peek inside the "envelope":

I used a 12 x 8 piece of cardstock, sewed a medium glassine bag to the middle of the "inside" of my card and folded the fronts over to form an "envelope".(The seam is just above the zig zags)  I decorated the front of my envelope with die cut flowers from Hero Arts as well as the inside. My sentiment is from October Afternoon (sidewalks) and the twine from The Twinery. I just slipped the photo into the Glassine bag.

That's it!  I'm off to visit my friend at the hospital.  Enjoy the rest of your day and please come back to play as I'll be sharing more of my crafting fun right here on Play as U Go.