It's weekend!!

Hi there Bloglanders

Just a note to wish you a happy weekend!!  We are going on a camping trip and I still have LOTS to do. For my Afrikaans readers, I made  subway art with extra ideas for making this long weekend super special.

Print it, stick it in your diary and give it a go!! For my non Afrikaans Bloglanders - it says:

It's weekend

Sleep late

Soak up the sun

Walk in the park

Sing in the shower

Kick it up!!

It's your turn

Because I'm Afrikaans, I just can't seem to get the knack of doing an English version. Sorry about that but I'm well aware of my imperfections.

And I nearly forgot to submit my Christmas project.  Here are my April tags.  I made some more which will become dimensional embellishments nearer to Christmas. Once again, I converted my Digi stamp to a Silhouette file, colored and cut it with the Silhouette and mounted it on a tag. I was brave enough to try the new Silhouette V3. Liked the old one better but importing files into the new one is a breeze.  We'll see. 

 That's it. Happy weekend to you all. I'll be back on Sunday to show my weekend's PL mini book.

For my Afrikaans friends, I'll add a category to the right of my blog with all my subway art if you want to peek. Have fun and remember to try something new.

Hazel

Having Fun!!

Hello Bloglanders

Once again, it's a long weekend down under in Sunny SA and I get to do things that I love - spend time with my family and doing some creative stuff.  Last night we had dinner at Big Easy in Stellenbosch.  It was wonderful. Stellenbosch is BEAUTIFUL this time of year and having both the boys and the girlfriends with us was SUPER wonderful.

With Wernich home from university I decided to bake some cookies:

Wernich and his girlfriend, Chandre have 4 X Dachshunds so it made sense to use THAT cookie cutter. Because the cookies are so small, they are extra crispy - just how we like them. Actually, I used dough that I had left over from a school project from Lulu, my Marelize girlfriend's DD. Want some inside info?

The project was about using dogs to fight crime. And this is what it looked like:

Their class is doing an expo and to attract visitors to their stalls, we made little Dachshund "party favors" to give away.  Here is the WIP:

You can see on their project that I used my Silhouette to cut all the headings for their poster.  A good idea is to keep your negative it you don't weld your title and trace it in pencil on the poster before you glue - much easier to do the spacing and it keeps it straight as well.

Good old Silhouette was also used to cut the little giveaway box - I will tell you more about that one later this week. Now, I'm off for a walk in the park.  Pieter's wedding is 16 weeks away - need the exercise, lose some weight and get going on the bridesmaid's dresses. There are 8 - all in black!!! Wish me luck and wave me goodbye. It's going to be a busy 16 weeks.

Thanks for looking at my blog today, if you are having a holiday today, ENJOY and if you don't, make sure you try something new and have some fun.

Hazel

I love Notebooks!!

Hello Bloglanders

I hope you are having fun!  I have son #2 at home and it's totally wonderful and awesome. We will all go out for dinner on Sunday - SO looking forward to have Wynand, both the boys and girlfriends in one place even if it is only for a little while.

Back to my post.  I totally love notebooks and keep them on my desk all the time. I also like to have one for every important "thing" in my life. Remember, I told you that I recycle printed office paper to make them?  If you missed out, just click here and all will be revealed.

I'm currently co-managing my neighborhood information and administration channel. It just made sense to keep all my notes in one place and what a better chance to add a new notebook. Here she is: My CATBOOK:

Remember the paper?? I made it to wrap Girlfriend #1's birthday pressie a month ago.

LINK

I bought the gift wrap at our local stationary shop and then cut and printed little speech bubbles with names for the cats. (with compliments from my Silhouette)

Even on the inside pages I added some more cats:

And the cheery bunch on my desk:

My books are 7.5 x 7.5 as I recycle used A4 office paper. It fits into my handbag which make it easier for me to take along to meetings. I use my Zutter to bind it and the biggest binder that I have in my stash as I LOVE adding pages, print-outs, pictures and embellishments to the back pages (the used sides). When I use it, I flip the pages to the back and clip it onto a clipboard.  I will take pics and show in another post.

Thanks for looking at my blog today.  I hope I have inspired you to recycle, reuse and re purpose. 

Have a great day!

Hazel

Mini Album added to Project Life

Hello Bloglanders

I took a bit of a breather over the Easter holidays - doing things that I love and spending some quality time with my family and friends. Down under in Sunny SA we have 3 long weekends in a row - something that makes daily chores a bit of a hassle. SO!!! Everything is behind schedule - even my blogging.

However, I did have some time to craft.  Remember this mini book??

I did it in September last year after a GREAT weekend with friends at the beach house. You can read all about it here if you missed out. It was still sitting on my craft desk as I love to re-visit good times but when I paged through my PL album, I decided to add it to my layout, move on and make some more memories for a new "desk topper". Ta-da!!!

This a great and cheap way to add lots and lots of pictures to a layout.  I printed 2 photos in 6x4 with 8 pictures each - total of 16 more moments captured for the price of 2!! I attached the mini book by stitching through the middle as well as through my page protector.  In front the yellow twine covers the stitching and in the back it doesn't bother me at all.  See??

If it bothers you, you can add an extra piece of ribbon / twine / a sticker.  I love doing mini books as I love revisiting old memories - that's why I PL BUT both my boys are "no clutter people". They love my Project Life albums but I'm not so sure that they will keep all my mini books. Therefor, I'm trying hard to add my mini books to my PL spreads.  It gives dimension and interest to the layouts and I can preserve the memories all in one, organized, no clutter place.

That's it. Another project done and dusted.  Thanks for looking at my blog today. Have a great week and please check back as I have tons more to share right here.

Bye
Hazel

PS. Here you can see all my PL mini books. Also, there is a link to my collection on the right of my blog. ENJOY!!

Over @ Craft Storage Ideas with louver to store your stamps.

Hi there Bloglanders

Just a quickie to tell you of this marvellous idea that I stumbled upon:

You can read all about it over at Craft Storage Ideas. My idea came from Better Homes and Gardens and the series is called “New Craft Storage Ideas Using Unexpected Items”.  If you want to see the rest of their ideas, just click here.Trust me, you don't want to miss out.   

Now, for those of you staying at home over the Easter weekend - enjoy the peace and quiet. For the ones having a mini holiday - enjoy, drive safely and remember to takes lots of pics!

Have fun!
Hazel

My Alternative Easter Decor

Hi there Bloglanders

Today I brought my Easter project to share with you  .................... SO not bunnies and hot cross buns!!

Remember my solar jars?? My friend, Marelize gave them to me for my birthday and I totally love, love, love them. So, I thought as we don't have children at home any more, I'll skip the Easter eggs and fill my solar jar with food for thought.

I used a cutting file from the Silhouette store.  You can make your own - it's quite easy but as the image was on special and I had some shop credit left, I splurged out and bought it. The three crosses are on a hill in the image which works very well. I've cut a cube of  florist foam with my kitchen knife, made a slit on top and slipped my cut-out in to keep it upright.  Then into the jar and covered it with moss.

The whole thing took less than 5 minutes and it's now hanging on my entrance gate. At night the solar light makes it look beautiful and authentic.  I'm not sure about my photo taking skills but I'll try to capture it for you. Watch this space.

If you haven't stocked up on Easter goodies yet, I recommend you consider my minimal approach. Use what you've got and just pretty it up with the goodies and tools you already have.

That's it. I'm off to do some living!! Tanks for looking at my blog today and please come back to play.

Hazel

PS. Here is the image I've used:

LINK

Shape ID: 40446

A Month in Review - April 2014 Calendar dowload

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you had a wonderful, happy weekend doing things that you love.  In my previous post, I sorted all my leftover Project Life kits into a system that works for me.  In the process I ended up with a lot of bits and bobs and there and then I decided to do a layout using them.

I did the layout in Photoshop but you can do it in any other program - I even own a stencil that does a month in one 12 x 12 page. I totally love month-in-review pages. For this print, I omitted the photos and numbers as I wanted to use my scraps AND was looking for a layered look - you can go 100% digi if you want to. After printing, I added everything left on my desk - pictures, numbers, scraps and embellishments galore!!

As part of my PL album I normally do a monthly review page but it's not always as elaborate as this one - sometimes I only use a tag or a journaling card but I loved this one SO much that I decided to give it another go for April 2014.

If you want to try - I brought my files to share. A Photoshop version with slots for your pictures as well and a JPG version where you can add as you go. Remember, IMPERFECT ME loves to share but it's only my version and you might find it lacking - I'm no graphic designer!! If you try it, leave me a comment, I would love to peek at how yours turned out.

Here are the links for the downloads:
PSD Link here
JPG Link here

I'm proud to say that for the first time since I started PL in 2011, I'm up to date.  I think it's easier since I decided to chuck the weeks and just print, paste and journal as I go.  It's a more "monthly" approach but it works for me.

Thanks for visiting my blog today. Have a happy week and keep trying new things.

Hazel

Over at Craft Storage Ideas with ideas to sort your Project Life leftovers

Good morning Bloglanders

In anticipation of my post for Crafts Storage Ideas on how to sort your Project Life leftovers, I tried what I preached myself and here is a run-down of  how mine works.

You know we don't get nice goodies down under so I had to improvise.  Here is what I used:

YES!!! I kept my laundry detergent holders!! I like the colour, 6x4 fits perfectly into it AND it smells great!!

I sorted my leftovers between the boxes and used tabbed dividers to keep them apart. My categories are: (Basically sorted by size and then by colour within the category)

6x4 - Plain, Prints, other (this is vellum, transparency, wood veneer, etc), words /// 3x4 - Plain, Prints, other (this is vellum, transparency, wood veneer, etc), words /// 4x4 - Plain, Prints /// Stickers - Project Life, Other /// Journaling cards - 6x4 Portrait and Landscape  /// Journaling cards - 3x4  Portrait and Landscape /// Miscellaneous.

For the dividers I used cardstock (think I'll laminate them for more durability) and I've got die-cut tabs. Yes, I know I could have used my Silhouette to make beautiful ones BUT I had a stash cut from scraps and I'd rather use something I already have than spend more money and effort on making new ones.

Do you still remember that I showed you that all my kits goes into photo boxes and then in deep drawer storage containers that stack next to my desk. (here is the link if you missed out). And this is what it looks like:

Well, I could fit 7 of the green laundry detergent containers on top of the photo boxes. It is actually using the space above and fits snugly into the big plastic box.  What makes this perfect is that it is on the same level as my desk - if I need a 3x4 piece of pink cardstock, I can just reach out and get hold of it.

I did keep the kits that are unused / partly used together in their photo boxes - this "laundry" system is ONLY for my left overs.

Now that I have it sorted, I can see what I have and use it before buying some more goodies. I couldn't believe that 20 photo boxes full of bits and bobs sorted down to 7 laundry detergent holders and it isn't even half filled.

I'm so glad I've stumbled upon the inspirational posts and had a bit of free time to try it out. (I'll add the link once CSi's post is live)

Remember this is a sneak peak and the post over at Craft Storage Ideas will only be up tomorrow.  Now, make a note to visit Craft Storage Ideas and read all about my original inspiration. All the links are in my post.

Thanks for looking at my blog. Have a great day and see u tomorrow @ CSi!

Hazel

Easter Wall Art

Hi there Bloglanders

Happy Tuesday to you all!! I had a bit of extra time and decided to make some Easter wall art in Afrikaans. I'm sorry for the majority of my Bloglanders because you won't understand but when I was looking for ideas I couldn't find ANYTHING in Afrikaans.  There are lots of Easter eye candy for the English speaking available.

Anyway, I think even though it's in Afrikaans, you will get the idea and love it anyway.  Here is my "Afrikaans Easter wall art":

 I've only used my Silhouette Software to do the print.  Much easier and user friendly than Photoshop (IMPERFECT ME).  I did struggle with my new version 3 software and in the end it malfunctioned to the extent that I reverted back to the previous version.  I AM going to upgrade again but for now I think I love my little red scissors on top so much that I'm staying with it a little while longer.

And for my English speaking Bloglanders.
PAASFEES = Easter
Die Paashaas hop, hop, hop = The Easter Bunny hops, hops, hops
'n Mandjie vol lekkernye = A basket full of treats
Soek Paaseiers = Easter egg hunt
Tweet tweet, my storie is uit = something like "tweet tweet, this is the end of my story"
Hierdie hasie lief jou = This bunny loves you .................... it's sort of my version of "some bunny loves you".

There you have it. My attempt!

Thanks for looking at my blog today and please come back to play as I have lots and lots more to share with you. Right now I'm off to find a frame for my subway art.

Have a great day!

Hazel

I can Sew!!

Good Monday Morning Bloglanders

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!! I had a ball at the beach house.  Wynand worked on his wines and I sat in the sun, read, ate good food and drank lots of chilled white wine.  Love my life.

And my laptop joined in the fun as I downloaded my Silhouette upgrade on Friday morning and couldn't wait to give it a go. Can't say that it's as user friendly as the previous version but maybe I'm just new to the "cut by layer / colour" options.  I also miss my little scissors at the top - loved to have that feature on hand. Well, I made 3 x Afrikaans subway art prints to get the creative juices flowing and me into the new program.  I will show later - I still have to figure out the print options!!

Finally I got the pictures of the metric farewell dress that I made a few weeks ago for my friend Marelize's beautiful daughter, Cara.  I know you don't like sewing pics but I'm rather proud of my effort and of her looking so stunning. So, ................. drum roll ................................ CARA:

And 2 more:

Cara wanted a "nude embossed" look for her dress and as we couldn't find material that suited her sophisticated taste, I ended up using a nude backing fabric with white and cream lace on top. I must admit, I didn't like the fabric or the colour but the dress turned out a HUGE success, Cara looked stunning and thinks the dress is awesome. Mission accomplished!!

I'm back to doing what I do best - crafting.  There are a few projects on my table but I won't spoil the surprise. Just keep checking back and all will be revealed.

Have a great day and thanks for visiting my blog today.

Hazel

Happy Birthday Girlfriend # 2

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you are well. It's a beautiful day in Sunny SA and I would like to walk in the park, sit outside and drink good wine. But, first a quickie to share how I wrapped girlfriend # 2's birthday gift.

Here it is:

Remember I showed you the one for girlfriend # 1 a week ago?  The one with the cats? Well, here it is if you forgot and the link if you missed out.

Sorry about the quality of my pics. I forgot to take the photos and had to use my iPhone before the gifts were opened.

Now about the flowery gift. I got inspired by this recycled gift bag:

I scanned it and opened my image up in Silhouette Studio.  Then one of my fave functions - "trace and lift" and it was done.  I did add a little white boarder with my offset button but that was all - really!! While I had to use an A5 page of photo paper (I use the office printer and it can't go smaller than that, I made some more embellishments for my stash:

Once again I used "trace and lift" to duplicate the insides of my flowers. A bit of resizing and I'm set for dimensional embellishments.

I hate rushing around to get hold of stuff. When you add to your stash while everything is out, you save time AND money. Nothing like original packaging!

Wondering what's inside?? Well, I always give money or gift cards and no exception this year. I just decided to make them think it was something different - I'm rather tired of  wrapping gift cards. Do not get me wrong, I use it all the time (especially when mailing it off) BUT while I saw both the girlfriend's on their birthdays, I decided to opt for a bit of a surprise.

That's it - a long story!! And it's not finished yet.  Head over to the Silhouette blog to see what the rest of Blogland did to celebrate spring.  OK, it's fall down under in Sunny SA but I'm ALWAYS up for a challenge.

Have fun and thanks for visiting my blog.

Hazel

Over @ Craft Storage Ideas with HoneyBearLane craftroom

Hi Bloglanders

Today I'm over at the Craft Storage Ideas blog with a craft room from HoneyBearLane. 

What I love about Heidi’s room and why I’m walking you through it, is that it is part of a basement apartment – living room, family room, craft room and office all in one. Best part for me is that it’s a rental.  Lesson to learn: you don’t have to “own” to pretty up your space or get organized.

Here is a sneak peak:

Now, hop over to Craft Storage Ideas to read all about it. And while there leave a comment and use the links to visit HoneyBearLane to see the original post.

Have fun!!

Hazel