Christmas gift - A Little present goes a Long Way

Hello Bloglanders

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Today I'm sharing a mini Christmas pressie that I've made, packed and given to a friend's mum who is going through a rough patch.

Needless to say - she collects "houses".

When I saw this little house fridge magnet, I immediately thought of her and bought it. BUT it's SMALL!! So I came up with making a customized gift bag. Adding her name with Silhouette black, flocked heat transfer - and it's done!!  I love how it turned out - looks like real velvet on the little cotton bag.  And I had to add a personal touch - the little yellow  heart.

And this year I'm adding these deer head tags to my pressies. Cut with my Silhouette - of course!

I do love to give little gifts with a personal twist and customized packaging. This a perfect example of how a little can go a long way.  My friend's mum is still having a hard time but at least my little gift made her smile for a while and every time she sees the little house on her fridge door, she will remember that a lot of us are thinking and praying for her.

That's it! I'm off to do some more creative things. It's wonderful outside - think I'll first have a swim and a soak in our wonderful African sun.

Thanks for looking at my blog today. Please check back as I have lots more to share right here on Play as U GO.

In the meantime, have fun and remember to try something new - TODAY!

"Making Time"

Hello Bloglanders

I hope you are having a wonderful time!! It's summer down under in Sunny SA and beautiful outside. You just want to soak up the sun, swim, eat salads, barbecue and drink good West Coast Sauvignon Blanc. But for all that you need time ...................................... this week in The Creative Life Documented Amy and Jamie focused on saving time while scrapping. Perfect!! Here we go:

I keep a monthly journal where I record what is currently happening in my life. For this I only allow myself to use stamps and diecuts from my stash. I keep to the same topics as well - Home; My Family; Creativity; Work and Furry friends. I also like to add what I currently enjoy to cook / eat. Can you match my categories with my stamps / die cuts?

Home:

My Family:

Furry Friends:

Recipes work for me!! I keep a tin with my favorite stamps on my craft desk. My husband cut some perspex squares from left overs from architect son's projects and I mount them "permanently" - ready to go 24/7. I will take a pic and share my "jewellery" tin with you. I don't even know from which sets they are but I use them SO much that it doesn't really matter.

For my die cuts - it's NOT easy to get stuff down under in Sunny SA. My solution - I buy digital element packs and convert them to cut files for my Silhouette. Ever done that??? Maybe you don't need to as you can buy everything from your local shops but I still think it's worth my while. For this layout I used some of  Amy Tangerine's Finders Keepers range. I will show you exactly how I did it in another post. Very easy if you know how to. Check back and all will be revealed!

Next month my page will NOT look the same BUT I'll use the same stamps and maybe diecuts from another source / maybe I'll get my hands on a ready-made one that takes my fancy. The main thing is that it saves me heaps of time to do what I love - spending time @ home with my family, friends and crafting.

Another thing that I'm using more and more to save time is my iPhone.  Another story, another day. But, here you can see the collage that I've made from a recent camping trip. My title came from the letterhead - no need for stamps / stickers. Done in a few clicks while waiting in a que to renew a licence.

Thanks for looking at my blog today. I hope you have enjoyed my "time saving" tips. I'm off to the pool with a book and a glass of wine. Have a GREAT day!

Getting Inspired

Hello Bloglanders

I'm still on my quest to get inspired??? Have you tried The Creative Life Documented?? Well, I am and it's working. My workspace is cluttered which means - I've been inspired!!

Let me show you the next project I did with the 3 colours of wrapping paper picked up from my local supermarket:

A lot of pictures, a few torn strips of wrapping paper and embellishments from my stash.  As easy as that and it took me a few minuted to complete.  I love the "Springy" feel of the whole layout!

AND, a page for my planner:

This week we are "making time" over at The Creative Life Documented. I had a GOOD think about this and worked out a lot of short cuts that I'll be taking in future. Check back and I'll tell you more in my next post. In the meantime, I'll share my first step towards having more time to be creative:

In this layout I used ONLY photos and even took a picture of the logo of the place where we've been  to use as a tile for my page.  I also added the date to one of the pictures - no need for labels / stamping. All done while we were camping - only printing and it's in my album for my family and future generations to see and enjoy!!

That's it!! I'm off to "make some time"!! I'll be back later this week with two more of my projects. Have FUN and remember to TRY SOMETHING NEW - TODAY!!

The Creative Life

Good Tuesday Bloglanders

I've been in a bit of a "No Moyo" rut for the past few months BUT all and all I think I' m doing fine - mentally and physically. I REALLY didn't expect it - with my mum being so sick and taking up so much of my free time.

I lost about 20 kilos, not because of my mother's sickness but because it was long overdue and time for me to get my life back on track, I've been sorting and purging throughout my home for the whole year. It's not nearly done, but I'm still at it. It's as if a HUGE weight has been lifted off my!!




The only thing lacking was creativity. Maybe it's due to the lack of time ......................... don't know. SO, last week I enrolled in Amy Tangerine's online class, The Creative Life Documented. The first chapter focused on "not feeling creative" and it got me working an a whole lot of new projects and ideas.

Yesterday I finished 4 pages of my Travel Journal. I do keep one as we travel a lot and I can't remember all the places, names and stats. We spent the previous weekend in Robertson - it was SO good and I wanted to capture the moments ASAP. After finishing the first lesson of TCLD, I couldn't wait to get going.

In this project I covered about 4 items from the homework list of  Lesson 1. I used ordinary gift wrap as inspiration for my colour scheme and then decided that I'm just using the wrapping paper on my layout as well - no searching for stash!!

Ordinary Inspiration for Extraordinary Projects:

Today I'm making a Scrapbook Layout and a Project Life spread using the same inspiration and supplies. Yes, everything is out - I can just as well enjoy my burst of creative energy. Check back and all will be revealed. Also, you don't want to miss out on the wonderful handmade gifts I received from my Robertson friend. Want a peek? 

If you want to see more, visit my Instagram feed. I've already uploaded pictures for you to see.  There is link in the sidebar of my blog as well.

That's it, I'm going for a walk in the park. We are having glorious days down under in Sunny SA. I think we will have breakfast outside on my "stoep" and grilled lamb chops right off the barbecue for dinner. Life is GREAT!!

Hearty Solar Jar

Happy Thursday Bloglanders

Today I'm sharing my "Hearty Solar Jar":


I've decided to join  this fun challenge:

This week we are focusing on family and friends. I bought a solar jar as a gift and filled it with 50 acrylic hearts to celebrate my best friend's 50th birthday. From now on, every year, I'll add another heart to the collection. To zuss up the gift I added a bow,  tag and die cut. As for my friend, every time she uses the Solar Jar, she will be reminded of how much I love her.

The idea behind my gift is that I've known my friend for 50 years. YES, we were born 4 months apart on adjacent farms in a rural area of Sunny SA.  We grew up playing together 24/7. My sister is 10 years younger than I am and I always joke that I've known Anel for longer than my sibling and therefor we are MUCH closer. Wanna see what we looked like many, many moons ago?

Sorry about the quality of the picture but the photo is 49 years old and stored under not-so-good conditions. I'm the one standing and she is sitting in front. It was taken December 1965.

And another pic:

About 7 years old and this time I'm sitting. Just look at my floral skirt!!! My mum used to make all my clothes. (hers did as well) I would love to know what I did with that skirt on a farm!!!

Let's get back to my Hearty Jar. Here you can get a better idea of the acrylic hearts and the solar jar:

Remember my previous solar jar posts? Hop over and visit them!! 

1. Christmas Nativity Solar Jar

2. Fall Garland Solar Jar

3. New Year's Resolutions Solar Jar

4. Easter Home Decor Solar Jar

And a close-up of the tag:

I'll be seeing my oldest friend over the weekend. My Hearty Solar Jar is packed and ready to be delivered. Thanks for looking at my blog. Have a GREAT day and please check back as I'll be sharing the mini book I made for her as well. Of course I made one for myself but that's a story for another day.