3D Christmas Embellishments

Hallo Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Wacky Wednesday. It's the end of the month, end of the tax year, end of the financial year and very, very busy at HQ Hamman. However, when I can't take on a BIG project, I try to get some smaller ones done in the time that I have on hand.

And here is my 3rd set of dimensional embellishment.  I'm joining in the fun of this challenge. Once again is to create a Christmas card (X2), upload it and by December you will have a stash of 24 ready to mail off / give away.  As I don't do a lot of cards, I create tags.  Here is my attempt:

I've used a Silhouette cut file for the trees, filled the shape with  digital prints and the software's "print and cut" function. Foam pop dots to attach the trees to my tags and it's done.

While printing the trees for the tags, I doubled up and did some for my dimensional Christmas embellishment sets:

I do these sets X6 and will give 5 sets to close friends and family to pretty up their Christmas decor and to make life a bit easier for them ............................ of course, charity begins at home so set #6 will be all mine. I even kept the negatives from the die cuts. These will become more tags when I have some time on hand again.  Keep checking back ...................................... all will be revealed right here on my blog.

I'm off to get ahead with my admin. Have a wonderful day and thanks for looking at my blog today.

Bye

Hazel

Hearty Notepads from recycled office paper

Good morning Bloglanders

Yes, I'm still staying outside near the pool and under my veranda .......................... keep reading and I'll share a sneak peak.  First up: My project: Note Pads from recycled office paper:

Wynand and I have our own business and we recycle all our office paper.  We have a box where we keep it and every once in a while I convert it into notebooks.  I've shown you one I made here and here.  We do use a lot of notebooks to write down messages because if  I use a loose piece of paper, it normally gets lost. So, I decided to try my hand at "hearty" notepads this time round.  Best part is if you fold one A4 sheet in 4 you can cut 8 hearts from every sheet and what remains, can go directly in the recycling - no need to shred - you can't figure out a thing.

Here you can see the front and the back:

I don't write on the back of my notes anyway therefore I don't mind that it is partly printed with office info. Best part is: I've made nice, funky, sturdy covers and in future, I can just add more heart notes. For the covers I've used scraps from my MME "My Girl" stash.  I've glued them onto sturdy carton (recycled from packaging material).

And now for the sneak peak into my workspace:

Left is my view up into the vines that cover my porch and on the right my temporary work station on a garden bench looking onto the garden and pool. I'm staying out here until winter!!

That's it. I'm off to splash in the pool. Thanks for looking at my blog today. Have a great day!

Bye
Hazel

Recycle a Book Cover into a Jewellery or Memory Box

Hello Bloglanders

It's HOT out here and I would rather spend time in the pool than crafting. So, I'm sharing a quicky. The whole project took me less than 10 minutes and it was worth every one I spent on it. Here is my recycled Book Cover:

Remember this?

I bought a stack of these cheap 6x4 albums, took them apart to make mini books (read all about it here) and I just couldn't get myself to throw the covers away.  10 Minutes of my time, a piece of  (Christmas) fabric, an old bookplate (from one of our office files), my Silhouette and I've got a pretty Memory box.

For those of you who want to know what I did, here it is:

1. Cover the empty book cover with fabric.
2. Add embellishments.
3. Using the dimensions of your book cover, create a cutting file in Silhouette for the box that must go inside.  I work in rectangles. Size them to the measurements of your book cover, then arrange them according to a "box plan", cut away the corners with your knife tool and weld. I only do half the artwork, then duplicate, flip horizontal and weld again. Half the work, half the time, same effect. I also added dotted folding lines but I'm sure you can use your mat and bone folder for that. One of the best functions of Silhouette - dotted folding lines!!!
4. Cut, fold and glue your box. Once it's done, glue to the back and bottom of your covered book cover.

Here you can see the inside of my box:

I did add a piece of black fabric to the inside lid of my box - to hide the cover fabric and brads that went through my cover. You wouldn't believe how beautiful and sturdy everything turned out!!

I've got a lot more of covers to transform - think it will make wonderful Christmas gifts. Best part is .................. my cutting file if done, I can just choose my cardstock color and cut. Think I'll make some for jewellery boxes for the girls - with little organza bags inside and some more for my bookcase - would love to have a whole row on my shelves. I do love pretty fabrics.

That's it from me. Thanks for looking at my blog today. Please check back as I have lots and lots and lots more to share right here. Have a great day!

Hazel

My Mandela Project Life Layout

Hallo Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Marvellous Monday. I've finally finished my 2013 Project Life Album.  Not everything went 100% according to plan but in the end it turned out well above my expectations.  I did get a bit behind at some point (OK, a lot!!!) but found that the best way is to get going on the NOW and catch up on the rest later.

Here it is:

My Nelson Mandela Layout.  We had memorial services all over South Africa when he died and I took some pictures at our local municipal buildings. Also, I wanted to keep one of the newspapers - in the end I kept a few - all these went into a Project Life envelope.  And my story .................................. I'm fortunate to have lived at the same time AND in the same country that he did.  If the world could only have half his love and grace - there would be no problems.

Don't you think the journaling card is great??? It says "This day will never happen again". How true!

That's it from me. I have to get back to work. Thanks for looking at my blog today and please check back as I have lots more to share right here.

Bye
Hazel

Dimensional embellishments with digi stamps.

Hi there Bloglanders

Wynand's back from a business trip and things are slowly getting back to normal. While he was away I had more time for my own things but I also had sole responsibility for home, garden, the boys and the office. Can't decide if I got more of  my own stuff done with or without him.

What I can tell you is that I ate what and when I wanted. Wynand is a picky eater - no avo, mango, spinach, risotto, souffle ....................................... I can go on forever! So, I had spinach souffle for breakfast and sushi for lunch and chips and avo dip for dinner. Today, it's back to counting points with Weight Watchers. After all, I have a HUGE wedding in 6 months.

While in the office, I had some time to play and tried my luck at another digi stamp.  I've joined this challenge and you can see my first effort here.  And didn't this little dragon turn out great?

The idea is that you make one, upload it and then you receive the next month's stamp free.  GREAT IDEA. Come December and you will have 12 projects to add some speed to your Christmas rush.  As I don't really do cards, own about 3 Copic markers and mass produce wherever I go, I converted my shape to a Silhouette cutting file, cut them X6 from a single 6x4 sheet and mounted them on green cardstock (I used offset to cut the green a bit bigger than my original image).

This month I couldn't decide what my tag should look like so I opted to make dimensional embellishments from the digi stamp. Now it is ready whenever I need a quick fix for a Christmas project.  Once again, I'm doing them x6.  That will enable me to spread some pre Christmas love to 5 of my friends.  I added pop dots to the back and all the embellishments go onto an A4 transparency.  Later, I will cut them apart ........................ let's not spoil the surprise, I'll show when I get there.

And here it is - my digi, dimensional, Christmas embellishments. January and February done and dusted.

That's it from me. I'm off to cook some chicken pie, rice and potatoes for lunch. Thanks for looking at my blog today. Please check back as I have lots more to share right here on Play as U Go. Have a great day!

Bye
Hazel

A Mini Book for a little Friend

Hallo Bloglanders

It seems that my little crafting friends keep my busy!! Today I had Alexa over to work on a school project and yesterday I made a mini album for my neighbour's daughter, Maja - yes, the one I share a cat with.

Since I became a full time Project Lifer, I do a lot less layouts and mini books and if I do, I adapt them to fit into my album.  So, it was such a treat to print extra pictures to make a mini book for Maja. Here it is:

I used a few die cuts and a pic for the front of my book. And the back looks like this:

Inside:

A few months ago my dad asked me to make mini albums for his college friends and I couldn't get 6x4 mini albums - you know those cheapies that EVERYONE stocks???? I searched high and low but not go so I made a plan.  I bought these:

Then I deconstructed it and used my sewing machine to add a cardstock cover to the 6x4 photo sleeves. You can see what I mean in the inside picture.  For my dad's books I used primary colours, a pre printed title and a piece of string to add interest to the outside but for Maja, I splurged out with the bright pink cardstock and die cuts from my stash.

I love how it turned out and you will agree with me.................. PJ is the most beautiful cat in the Southern hemesphere - I haven't seen all the Northern ones ..................................... yet!

And a picture of my "manly" version for my dad's friends:

I did them X15 but everything was so standard that I produced it factory style and mailed it off the next day. Sorry about the picture quality - I only had my iPhone on hand so it just had to do.

That's it. Another F-U-N project.  Thanks for looking at my blog today and please check back as I have lots and lots more to share right here.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday.

Hazel

Upcycled Cocktail Bottles

Hallo Bloglanders

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that you received some extra love from you nearest and dearest for Valentine's Day.  In the spirit of LOVE, I have another up-cycle project to share:

I love glass - bottles, jars ............................... anything in glass makes me smile.  Once again, I decorated the bottles with vinyl stickers done with my Silhouette and I even made the little "flags" to add to the straws. It was a free file from the Silhouette blog a few weeks ago.  I kept the original lids of the bottles .................. perfect for transporting your fave drink to a picnic / to store in the fridge:

These bottles started out with soy sauce in it but now I use them for salad dressing, olive oil, balsamic vinegar or like in my pictures - to pretty up my table decor. You will see them again if you keep following this blog.

That's it.  You don't have to spend a lot of money to spread a little LOVE.  Just look around an recycle, re-use and re-purpose what you already have.  On that environmental note ......................... thanks for looking at my blog today.  Please check back as I have lots and lots and lots more to share right here.

Have a Marvellous Monday!

Hazel

Happy V-Day

Hallo Bloglanders

I've been SO busy getting Valentine's Day orders out that I just did not get to Blogland. Sorry about that but I'll make it up by showing what I did.  First up, I customized cappuccino cups:

I cut some Vinyl with my Silhouette and transferred it to cups that we've been using for ages. (read all about it here) A quick fix for any occasion.  Sure, they will not withstand the dishwasher but that's fine - I actually don't want more "stuff" and try my best to use what I have on hand. Maybe I'll zuss them up with bunnies for Easter after Valentine's day. Perfect for IMPERFECT ME.

Meanwhile, Wynand and I love our custom made cappuccino cups and while I don't drink milk, I celebrated Valentine's day by adding a dollop of ice cream to my morning coffee. It looked yummy and tasted equally good.

On that sweet note, have a happy, happy Valentine's day and enjoy the time with your loves ones!  Thanks for looking at my blog and please come back to play as I have lots more to share right here.

Bye
Hazel

Mini Valentine treat Boxes

Hallo Bloglanders

And I'm back with some more crafting fun. First of all, I was very, very depressed yesterday about not being able to purchase the Designer edition of the Silhouette software but surprise, surprise ............. while I was sleeping Silhouette sent me an email and I got it (for nearly half the price!) If  you want the discount code, get it over at Amy Tangerine's blog. While there, have a look what she does.  I love her stuff and she has the most adorable baby.

So, to celebrate my Silhouette designer edition, I made another Valentine treat box:

This one is tiny - less than 2 inch square.  For the i (heart) u !" I used the Rockwell font, ungrouped the letters, re arranged them in a square to fit the lid of  my box and added hearts to top  the "i". The box is from the Silhouette store and I just scaled it down to fit onto one piece of 4x6 cardstock. (I even had some left) I filled the letters from the back with a square of pink cardstock, added some twine in red and pink from The Twinery and a rhinestone.

Inside it looks like this:

And on my table:

My Valentine's Day décor is sorted but as I was adding finishing touches to my goodies, a friend popped in and ordered a box with  stuff just like mine.  I'll tell you all about my LOVE BOX tomorrow.

That's it, I have to clear my craft table and while everything is out, thought that I would slip in some more crafting fun. Please check back as I'll be back to share.

Have a Wacky Wednesday!

Bye

Hazel

Pre Valentine Project Life

Good morning Bloglanders

I'm trying to give my home a much needed facelift but the more I do, the more I have to do so I sent my sewing machine for a service and decided that I need a break to do some sorting first. But boy, do I miss that sewing machine!!

So, yesterday I decided to do some sewing by hand and while at it, I did some Project Life cards for Valentine's day:

I actually pre cut the holes for the sewing of  the hearts with my Silhouette.  Easy. I just changed the print line from continuous to dotted and ended up with perfectly spaced stitch lengths. I have tried to get my hands on the Designer Edition of the Silhouette software but because I live down under, the Silhouette store does not want to ship to me. (and I thought it's a digital product!!)  I really hate this because I'm always so loyal to my Silhouette but not getting goods are SO frustrating!!

Apparently the Designer edition has much more functions and line options but as I said .......................... nothing I can do about living down under in Sunny SA.

This is making me depressed so without further ado ..................................... some more cards:

and a close-up of the stitching:

That's it!! I'm off to try my hand at doing some speech bubbles.  Thanks for looking at my blog and please come back to play.

Bye

Hazel

A "thank you" Mini Folder Card

Good morning Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Marvellous Monday!  Today I have a card to share.  Now, you know that I'm more of a letter / tag kind of girl but the whole family had to write "thank you notes" to my dad so we decided to do a card that works like a mini folder.

Here is the inside:

We wrote our notes on ordinary notebook paper and I stitched them in red thread to the inside of the "folder". The notes are different sizes as I love the dimension it gives.  "Dankie" (Thank you in Afrikaans) was done with my Silhouette. I planned the bottom notebook page that the "Date" that was pre printed, showed above the stack of notes and used my date stamp beneath it.

And on the outside it looks like this:

I used the same subway art that I made here. Just printed this one 6x4 to fit my "folder". As easy as that!

My dad received the card via snail mail (he doesn't do electronic media) and called yesterday to thank me for the beautiful card. Mission accomplished!!

That's it. I'm off to some more crafting fun.  Have a great day and thanks for looking at my blog today.

Hazel

Drawstring bags: Write your own Message

Hallo Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Wacky Wednesday. And by public demand ............................................ another Drawstring Bag!! I think this is version 4:

I don't really do cards and sometimes a tag just looks "overdecorated" so I came up with this version of a Drawstring bag with a sewn-on tag.  I've made "blanks" for my Etsy shop - you can buy and keep it ready to pack and write a message whenever you need to.(I'll activate the link to my shop once I've loaded my new stock) If you want to try your hand at making your own, I'll do a tutorial at the end of my Drawstring Bag series - I think I've figured out the quickest way (after making 300+ over the weekend!)

This one is going to a friend of my mum that lives in a retirement home - inside I'm putting a mega chock chip cookie, a gift card and a photo of my family. I think I'll write her a letter as well (yes, I do letters!) ................ she's really old and while I have the time, I should tell her how much she has meant to me over the years.

And I can't help to share these pictures of my neighbour's cat coming over to help:

Even though he's not mine, I love him to bits. Thanks Maja for sharing him!

That's it from me. Have a great day and thanks for looking at my blog. I'll be back to share some more crafting fun right here - just check back.

Bye
Hazel

i SPY - A Pre Bachelorette

Hi there Bloglanders

And here I am with something that looks like fun:

The Princess hosted a pre bachelorette party to go through all the wedding arrangements with the bridesmaids.  She supplied a pot of colored chalk for them to write messages on her garden bench.  I have one exactly like theirs (actually, they kidnapped theirs from my garden!) - next time I have friends over, I'm going to copy her idea. With chalkboard being the flavor of the month, you can't go wrong.

And a few more pics of the party:

All my Blogland friends who are currently having snow, rain and cold weather, I hope my post from Sunny SA has warmed your hearts.  For the rest - stay inside, keep warm and be safe.

Thanks for looking at my blog today and if you SPY something great, let me know and I'll feature it on my blog. I love to interact with my Blogland friends.

Have a great day.

Hazel

Drawstring Bags - Stamping AND Fabric paint

Good morning Bloglanders

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and time to try something new!!  I've got a "newbe" to share - a combo of stamping AND fabric paint:

In my previous post I showed you how my 9-year old craft class stamped on their canvas bags but when I looked at my attempt it looked too bland for IMPERFECT me. So, Silhouette to the rescue with my "fave" option - "trace and detach". I only wanted a little pink on the butterfly's wings so I opted for making cutting lines from the inside of the shape. First, the stamped image that I scanned and opened up in Silhouette:

And my Silhouette layout:

As I told you before. I use ordinary vinyl for my stencils as I have lots of scraps.  For this I used an 2 x 3 piece and did the L-O-V-E for my first post on altering drawstring bags as well as the butterfly for this project. In black you can see what my original butterfly looked like.

And a WIP pic:

You will agree - it does look funky now!! I love trying new things and when it works according to plan, it's extra special.

Sorry but I'm a bit tired of drawstring bags now.  Tomorrow I'll do i SPY as I saw something wonderful and would love to share it with you.  However, I have lots more in my Drawstring Bag repertoire.  I think I'll continue with that on a weekly basis - let's make it every Thursday???

That's it. Thanks for looking at my blog today. Please check back as I have lots more to share right here on Play as U Go.  Have a great day!

Hazel