End of Winter

Good morning Bloglanders

I know I've been a very, very bad Bloglander but I just got sort of Blog-depressed. Or maybe it was just me hibernating through the last days of winter down under in Sunny SA.

I love doing projects and sharing them with you but taking pictures with not-so-good weather and lightning just got the better of me. SO. I made a plan!! I find that my iPhone takes pretty good pictures and in future, I'm going to use that on my blog and maybe save some time and get my blog mojo back.

Let me show you the view from my house over the park ex my iPhone:

Tomorrow SPRING officially starts in Sunny SA. For me, that means new beginnings and I promise, you can check back and see a GREAT project that I've been working on. Want a peek????

I also want to share a mini card / maxi tag that I've made. It's my contribution towards the 

Use a bug! DoubleClick Skittles Challenge

I'm not big on bugs so I opted for a dimensional butterfly.

And this is how I made the beaded body:

I'm off to enjoy the last day of Winter, cook some soup and finish my project. Thanks for bearing with me!!

Caravan Party Favors

Happy Sunday Bloglanders

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!! Today I'm back with "my take" on PaperCrafter'sCorner Magazine Monday Week 112. - 3D Caravan Party Favors for my Camping Friends:

And my inspiration?

Remember, it's winter down under in Sunny SA!!! I just couldn't get myself to the ice cream truck but camping always lifts my spirit SO - I decided to do a caravan in ice cream colours. It's 3D and I used the little camping caravan box as party favours for my camping buddies.

Inside is a tea cloth. Wherever you are out of doors, there are bugs.  Something clean and white to keep them off  your food.  I've been planning this project for YEARS and just got around to it this week thanks to Magazine Monday's Challenge. 

I've used this die cut before but can't remember if I've shared it before. Doesn't matter - I've got it on file and proud to show you again. This one was a 3D interactive birthday card for a Camper friend.

Left pic shows the pink note card, a green mini envelope and the 3D box. Middle is a view from the top showing all the envelopes and cards. Right: Ready for delivery.

Our friend needed new cutlery for her caravan. We decided to gift her with money but didn't want to make it a competition of how much each of us could afford. Therefore, each of us used an envelope for our money and a separate card for the birthday wishes.   It all fitted into the caravan box. I just added a flag with our friend's name to make it even more festive.

And some of the die cut caravans even hopped onto my Planner:

I just love to add leftovers to my Planner. The dear head is the negative of one I've used on a Project Life Page. I just filled the negative space with black cardstock, used some washi to cover my scribbles and it was done.

And another peek at my Caravan Party Favors:

Now I just have to wait for our next camping trip to hand out my Favors. In the meantime I'll be crafting my week away - just come back to play and all will be revealed or follow me on Instagram to see it sooner.  

Thanks for looking at my blog today. Have a happy week and remember to try something new - TODAY!!

Something Sweet

Happy Friday Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Funky Friday!!  It's birthday season down under in Sunny SA and I had to get ahead with my pressie prep.

Let's start with my Apricot Jam.

Every year during November I cook a LOT of Apricot jam - I always say Wynand will eat it on his porridge if I allow him to. Mostly, I use it to serve with freshly baked bread (I do make my own), to bake Hertzoggies, Jam Rolls an to give away as thank-you-pressies.

For the thank-you-pressies I add a homemade tag / label and the inspiration for these ones came from the SimonSaysStamp Wednesday challenge - 

FOOD AND/OR DRINK

I love botanical prints and got these images from here.  It does look yummy, doesn't it?? Can you believe that I couldn't get any apricot images from the Silhouette store? Well, I made my own:

And I added one of the die cuts to the lid of the jar.

Easy Peasy and I have a batch of thank-you-gifts ready and prettied-up to give away to family and friends. 

Tomorrow I'm doing some more pressies. Please check back and I'll show exactly what's cooking at Hamman HQ.

Also entered:  DoubleClick Skittles "Food" challenge.

Writing with Watercolour

Hi there Bloglanders

If you came here from the Craft Storage Ideas blog, just scroll down for my Trend Storage Post or click here.

Happy Sunday to you all!! At the beginning of this year I made a list of new things to try out and one was writing with watercolours. There are lot of them out there BUT it's really difficult!! Amy Tangerine makes it look easy and fun and I'm sure if I practise enough, I will get there. Here is my first attempt:

And my inspiration came from Paper Crafter's Corner Magazine Monday # 110.

The colours immediately made me think of this OLD piece of paper in my stash:

I always think that if you can remember everything in your stash,  you don't have too much!! (or maybe I just have a good memory / have a good paper storage system)  This one dates back to 2006 and it's from Creative Memories.  I still love it and plan to do a fun and summery Project Life page with it and will also include my first attempt of writing with watercolors.

Now you know what I'll be doing every Sunday afternoon. Thanks for visiting my blog today. Have a wonderful week and please check back as I have lots more to share right here on Play as U GO.

Travel with your Crafts - Making Softies

Happy Sunday 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 used:

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 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 week and thanks for looking at my blog today.