Got 20 Minutes

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you are well. Winter finally arrived down under in Sunny SA but don't fear - we don't get snow in Stellenbosch. Our winters are more like European summers!! So, I stay inside where we have a real wood fire going all the time and CRAFT, try out wonderful new recipes and sew.

Yesterday I told you that I read a whole lot of inspirational posts. In keeping with my summer fruit theme, I took up the Paper Crafter's Corner challenge "Got 20 Minutes".

And my project:

8 Fruit themed cards!

Sometimes your schedule is way too busy - you just can't start on a new project BUT with 20 minutes to kill, you can make a HUGE difference to your pressie stash and your gift wrapping station.

I cut all my scraps in sizes of 6x6, 6x4 and 3x4 - the smaller pieces go towards die cuts. And this is how I keep them on my craft trolley:

In a plastic container - leftover cardstock, project life cards and even some multi media pages. When I start on a new project, this is the first place I go to.  No exception with my 20 minute card project.

Second stop is my die cut box:

Whenever I cut and print with my Silhouette and there is some space left on the page, I add a die cut shape for my "jewellery box".

With only 3 minutes used gathering stuff, I used the rest of the 20 minutes to glue everything together.

I even had time to add twine to two pineapple tags for my gift.

I wrapped half of my cards to give away as a birthday gift to a special friend. The rest went into my gift wrapping stash.

And here is my pressie - ready for delivery:

The card on top says "Geluk" (= Congratulations). I don't even have to add and additional tag to say "Happy Birthday" to my friend.

Here you can see the two pineapple tags that I added to the back of the Cellophane pocket.

I'm most definitely going to do another "Got 20 Minutes" challenge. Next one up will be a Project Life mini book. If you missed out on that one, read all about it here. To make this challenge even harder, I plan to take pictures as I go - YES!!! to show you exactly what I did - all in 20 Minutes!

That's it. I'm off to get my hands on another 20 minutes.  Thanks for looking at my blog today. Have a Wacky Wednesday and please come back to play.

Vintage Beach Layout

Hello Bloglanders

Happy Sunday to you!! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that this coming week will be totally awesome.

This past week I've been inspired by a lot of new ideas.  First one up is Paper Crafter's Corner Magazine Monday Challenge #109. This is my attempt:

And the inspiration:

All I could think of was beach, sand and sea.  When I looked through my childhood album for pictures, it fell apart. No time like the current to relocate them to an acid and lignin free album. I decided to keep all the original pictures but as most on them include other family members, I scanned them first.  The ones in my album is nearly 50 years old and faded but I still love them and am very glad that  they are now safe for at least the next 50 years.

Most probably I'll enlarge the bottom left one for the "beach house photo project". I shared my first attempt here.  Can you imagine how GREAT it would be to look at these "vintagy" family pics all day long. Once I've done 4, I'll have them framed and up on the walls.  Watch this space and you'll be the first to see my Beach House Memory Wall.

That's it. I'll be back once the Craft Storage post is up to share how I made my mini Softies. I'm sure you are as excites as I am to make a butterfly to join Flower Power and Maya the Bee. 

Have a GREAT week and thanks for looking at my blog today.

Travel with your Crafts

Happy Friday Bloglanders

I hope you are having a ball and that your weekend-dreams exceed your wildest expectations.  Currently, I'm making Softies. Never heard of them??  Check out my Pinterest board.

As I had to do a Craft Storage Ideas post about storing new trends, I thought I'd give this trend a go. And meet them - Maya the Bee and Flower Power. Initially I decided to make the bee for a garden loving friend but as she is more of a pink person, I decided to give the trend a second go with Flower Power.

I'll show you exactly what I did in another post but first I want to share how I travel with my crafts.  Wynand and I hop between our home in Stellenbosch and the winery on the West Coast quite regularly. Nothing better for me than sitting on our "stoep", drinking Sauvignon Blanc and CRAFTING.

Here is what I use:

A whole stack of old suitcases stacked in our entrance hall. The bottom one dated back to my first day of school, the bottom brown one is from my daughter-in-law's brother, then another brown one from Wynand's first years of school. On top you can see the bright, blue striped one that I retrieved from our attic recently. Pieter used it in pre-school more than 25 years ago!!

As I love to try out new things, I needed a space for non-permanent projects.  And this is IT!!

I decided to make a cover for the inside as I needed pockets for my tools. Step one: Cut pattern pieces using the suitcase as a template. Remember to add seam allowances!

I used fabric scraps (what did you  expect???) therefore my pockets and backing are different black tartans, leftover buttons and an old shirt from my mum for the flowery piping.

Stitch and it's done:

Even though it wasn't necessary, I wanted brightly colored bows to keep the cover in place. I've sewed them to the stitching that go all around the suitcase.

 And packed with all the tools and products needed to make gorgeous Softies:

I love the fact that everything is in one place and that I can just open up the suitcase and get going.

I hope you enjoyed my version of  "Travelling with my Crafts".  I'll be back on Sunday with a "Try a Trend" post. Then, I'll share the info on making your own Softies.  In the meantime, I'm off to try my hand at a Butterfly. Check back and I'll share the inside info right here on Play as U Go. If you can't wait, check my Instagram feed and you will see as I go.

That's it - I've got a butterfly waiting to be made! Have a Happy weekend and thanks for looking at my blog today.

Get into shapes with Fruity Tags

Hello Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Wacky Wednesday!! Yesterday was COLD down under in Sunny SA so I crafted the day away in my sunny living room. To heat things up, I made fruity tags for all the upcoming birthday pressies.

I'm not a big "cardie" but I love beautifully wrapped pressies and normally, I'll add a mini card (and envelope), a die cut name and / sentiment and a die cut shape.  Here you can see one that I've added to a jar of homemade rusks:

I love the "print and cut" feature from my Silhouette and whenever I have some space open on a project, I'll add something for my "jewelry box". YES, I'm not big on diamonds and gold but I LOVE this box of die cuts that sits next to my Silhouette.

And some more fruity shapes:

And what inspired this fruit salad? The SimonSaysStamp Wednesday challenge - Get in shape.  NO!! nothing to do with weight, it's the shape of your card (in my instance - tag) that matters!!

And my pressie is ready for delivery:

That's it!! Another project done. Today I have some sewing on my agenda - AND the office - of course!! I'll be back to share my latest sewing project with your right here on Play as U Go. Thanks for looking at my blog today, please come back to play as  I would love to have you.

I love Summer Bucket List

Happy Sunday Bloglanders

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!! I loved having some extra time with my family, home, pets and garden.  We had beautiful, sunny weather - just perfect for sitting outside and having a barbecue. Actually, it's winter down under in Sunny SA but "YEAH" - we had lots and lots and lots of sunshine.

Speaking of Sunshine. I do love summer and therefore, I made a summer bucket list mini book for my Project Life album. ( SUMMER = SOMER in Afrikaans)

With our second part of Summer 2015 coming up, I wanted to document the good things we do every summer. What better way than a mini book?? Even better - one that would fit into a Project Life page protector.  

And what inspired me to do a "summery" mini when it's winter all around?? The ice cream from PaperCrafter'sCorner Magazine Monday. Hop over there and see what the rest of Blogland did with the same idea.

I love the dimension that a mini book gives to a page. In this one I have three mini folders, a chipboard die cut, title and two paper-clips that pops off the page. The last page of the mini slips into the 4x6 photo pocket and the rest all stay on top. YUM!!

When you see this mini book again, it will be puffed up and filled with pictures, movie stubs, a dribble of ice cream and some sand from the West Coast. Just keep checking back and all will be revealed.

If you want a peek at some of my other "Project Life mini books", just click here. 

That's it. Happy week to you all. I'll be back tomorrow with another crafting challenge. In the meantime, have FUN and remember to try something new - TODAY!!

Vintage Layout

Happy Sunday Bloglanders!!

I've been crafting up a storm! My Project Life pages for April and May are done, I'm working on June pictures, I've been trying my hand at making "softies" and we have beautiful weather down under in Sunny SA - so, I've tried out LOTS of new recipes.

But let's not wast time on things that I'll show later - here is my Vintage Layout:

For some time now, I've been planning to do some "beachy", vintage pictures for the walls of the Beach House. Most of the pictures are in a bad state from being stored in acid containing albums or even worse - boxes stuck away somewhere.  Also, they have been taken many, many moons ago with instant cameras.

I just don't like small pictures on BIG, white, seaside walls!! SO, when I saw Papercrafting Magazine Monday challenge #107, the vintage "feel" reminded me of this picture of my husband and his cousin on the beach.

I decided to make my picture "bigger" with a Layout - how simple is that! With the exception of the picture and the background paper, everything came from my scraps. I didn't want the title to stand out. Therefor, I went for white on white lettering:

I love how it turned out and can't wait to have it framed and up on the wall. In the meantime I'm off to rescue another vintage picture. Come back to play and all will be revealed right here on Play as U Go.

Thanks for looking at my blog today. Have a GREAT week and remember to try your hand at something new - Today!

Dotty Day Notebooks

Good morning Bloglanders

I'm back from Wernich's graduation. And here you can see the elated graduates from the Architecture Masters Degree class of 2014.

Sometimes I feel more elated than the boys - paying for studies is not for the faint hearted!!

Today I'm sharing a project with recycled ingredients. Notebooks.

We keep all our office leftover copy paper in a box and whenever I get the time, I diecut it into shapes for notebooks. With Work in Process, they get stored in a pretty, red, heart tin.

Even the sturdy covers come from recycled packaging material.

I keep a stash of the finished notebooks in my craftroom and whenever I have to whip up a quick pressie or thank-you-gift, I add a sentiment and there it goes. It's SO pretty, I don't even have to wrap it. This specific one will go towards a birthday and I plan to add a sentiment that says "Have a Hotty, Dotty B-Day". Best part is - I hand out refills to family and friends (and myself) to fill up the Notebooks once used. The inspiration for my dots came from the SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge:

WE’RE GOING DOTTY!

I don't always have a clear idea of what I want to use to decorate my projects. THEN ...................... I look around Blogland for some inspiration and very soon I've got a brilliant idea. I'm a VERY visual person - colours, textures and shapes inspire me.

That's it from me. Thanks for looking at my blog today. Have a wonderful day and please come back to play!

PS. If you missed the previous time that I've shown some of these Notebooks, here they are! I've added a picture of one to my Instagram feed as well. Just look to the right of my Blog header or click here.