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!

Have a Heart

Good morning Bloglanders

I hope you are having a wonderful, sunny and loved Sunday! At Hamman HQ we are spending some time outside on our stoep, having a barbecue and a swim. It's HOT down under in Sunny SA.

Speaking of hot - the SimonSaysStamp challenge of the week is "Have a Heart". What more do you need to heat things up on your craft table?? Last year I made a kit of different heart themed things to keep on hand to pretty up my occasion and this year I decided to re-use my items and to duplicate the kit and gift a friend with one. The idea is to spread the love, isn't it?

And here is my "Have a Heart" kit:

"Have a Heart Kit": Ribbon, Washi, a handmade heart bunting, red vinyl die cuts, heart confetti, picnic cutlery sets, drawstring bags, straws and note cards.

I really did use what I had on hand. The confetti, heart bunting, straw toppers and paper spools for the ribbon, twine and washi are made from recycled scraps, the drawstring bags from offcuts of fabric and the rest came from my craft and kitchen stash. 

And here are what I made with the same kit last year:

      Cappuccino mugs          Heart bunting gift wrap        Drawstring gift bags       Recycled drink bottles

Just click on the names below the images to see the related posts.  If you want to have some more Valentine's fun, check back later this week as I'll be sharing more links. I do love occasions!!

Thanks for visiting my blog today. I really enjoyed having you over.  Have a GREAT week and remember to TRY SOMETHING NEW.

Sunday Summary Week 34

Hello Bloglanders

This past week was WEDDING, WEDDING, WEDDING!! ....................... Finally. And everything was fabulous.  I will put up more pictures once I get the ones Moira West took.  Keep checking back and all will be revealed.  I also plan to do a post (and pic's) of the venue later this week.

Without further ado .............................. meet Mr & Mrs Hamman II:

A peek at the venue:

The flowers:

One of the 8 bridesmaid dresses that I made:

The napkins that I did (X 100!!)

What a GREAT idea. Customized (with Vinyl) chairs  for the bride and groom:

And now for the top wedding idea!! All the bridesmaids and groomsmen contributed to get a photo booth for the wedding. It was open all night and anyone could pose and have their pictures taken.  They printed two  pictures of each pose - one you could keep and the second went into an album where you had to write a personal message to the bride and groom.

Bride and Groom being silly at the photo booth:

There you have it!! It was perfect!!

Thanks for looking. Have a wonderful week and I'll be back with some more crafting fun so, keep checking back.

Sunday Summary Week 30

Good evening Bloglanders

Without further ado, as promised my Sunday Summary for the past week. It's still very, very busy at Hamman HQ. We had Pieter's birthday yesterday and Wynand's is next week. Lots of  love, laughter and fun.

Currently we are having very, very wintery weather down under in Sunny SA with lots of rain, sunny days but COLD nights.  Just what I needed to warm me up - a new challenge from SimonSaysStamp - A mid summer's challenge.  We already had half our summer BUT the second half will be here in no time so I started on my summer bucket list. Or rather, my bucket bin (OK, TIN):

I printed some journaling cards, filler cards and fun titles from the Becky Higgins Hi Sunshine kit. Just love the fun, summery colors and the titles - it's like a bucket list without thinking them up for yourself!!

Everything went into a tin that I got from Monika' Wright's Etsy shop. And then I decorated the front with some scraps, a filler card and "2014" cut from yellow glitter foam.

One of the big advantages of living in Sunny SA - you get two summers!

And a peek inside:

I'm not going to bind the cards into a mini book as I would most probably include my list with the activities as we finish them in my Project Life album. 

Another project - some painting with acrylics, stencyl, die cuts from Wilna Furstenberg and DIY glitter foam letters. 

I'm doing a post about this project later this week so keep checking back. Love how it turned out!!

I did a layout, a Multimedia page, some cards and have enough scraps left to do a double page Project Life spread. 

I'm a bit new to ink splatters and curled pages but it's growing on me.  You will definitely see more of this right here on Play as U Go.

Big news at home is that we are looking for a house to buy for Pieter who is getting married in less than a month. 

Lucky for me, they are staying in Stellenbosch and will therefore still be within 10 minutes drive from me. Here is the one we wanted but was unfortunately sold just the day before we decided to make an offer.

And ................................. some time ago Wynand asked me to do some vinyl art for his truck with my Silhouette. I didn't think he was serious but he kept at it. Last week he finally got the wolf for his truck and warthogs for the camping trailer. Great project and he's SO chuffed. Our neighbor came over tonight to ask that I do one for him as well!!

I think the reflection in the Wolf one looks spooky, don't you?? Just what Wynand wanted.

Last but not the least. Even though it's very, very cold, our garden is beautiful. And here is the evidence:

When we bought our current home this plant was dry, neglected and nearly dead but Wynand nursed it back to life and now it's one of my favorites. I really love my house and garden.

That's it. Another Week done and dusted.  This week I will have to finish up the 8 black bridesmaid dresses and get some office admin done but I've already got some projects lined up for you. Please check back as all will be revealed right here on Play as U Go. Until we meet again .............................. have fun, craft on and remember to TRY SOMETHING NEW.

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

Drawstring Bags Many, Many Ways.

Good morning Bloglanders

I hope you are having a wonderful Thursday!! It is very, very hot down under in Sunny SA but if I look at all the snow the USA is having, I can't help a few shivers.  For those of you over in snowy USA - hang in there, keep warm and stay safe.

Today I'm doing the first in a series of  "Decorating Drawstring Bags".  I had to help a class of children do some Valentine's gifts and decided to recycle all my cotton scraps into drawstring bags for them to use to pack their projects. Of course, we decorated the bags!  I'll be showing some of our projects and if you can come up with more, we would love to hear about it. Next class we will try it out.

And this is the stash that the IMPERFECT factory made:

I think I have figured out a quick way to make them and will be sharing that in a later post (IMPERFECT ME still have to take pic's).  So, first up is a bag decorated with fabric paint.

I did the letters from scraps of Vinyl with my Silhouette and the girls just had to paint the open spaces.  I know the whole Blogland is buzzing about the new stencil material coming to Silhouette shortly but we, down under in Sunny SA will probable be getting it after CHA 2015.  In the meantime, I use the regular Vinyl and I DO reuse it.  I keep it on pieces of waxy paper in an office folder (the wax paper comes from the inside of the heat transfer rolls).  Here is a bit of  WIP info:

These letters have been used by 9 little girls and I think it's still ready to go for my own attempt at stenciling with Vinyl. We only used 2 colors of  fabric paint. Pink first and then adding more white to get the lighter shades.  I think you save on paint and mess that way and which little girl wouldn't like to have an all pink drawstring bag to give away? (I think they are keeping these!)  OH, and remember to put something inside the bag when you paint otherwise it will seep through.

That's it. My first way to decorate an ordinary drawstring bag. Thanks for looking at my blog today. Please check back as I have lots more to share right here.

Have a great day!
Hazel

Mini Album for Project Life #2

Hallo Bloglanders

And I'm back to show my Mini Album for PL al la IMPERFECT ME. Here it is. And yes, I found my memory card. As it is black and was lying on a pile of  folded black laundry (why on earth would it be there??) ............. I just didn't see it!  This is version #2. If you missed #1 just scroll down or click here.

And included in my PL page:

It actually all started with an idea from Big Picture Classes - Use signage. Well, I don't have any children at home and Wynand absolutely refused to hold up a chalkboard so I decided to use what I've got.  The layout is all about a camping trip to Guano Cave near Montagu.  As I didn't take a pic of the nameboard, I decided to use the logo on my information sheet. I scanned it, "cut and lift" in Silhouette Studio and then cut it out of Vinyl. I received some as part of another Silhouette item that I've bought and it has been staring at me for the past month.  

For you "Silhouettees" out there - I did struggle. My machine did not want to feed the vinyl and I ended up sticking it to a cutting mat.  Then I couldn't get it to transfer onto the transfer sheet.  I ended up putting letters on like old times - sticker sheets!! Well, it's not perfect but I'm fine with how it turned out.  You bet I'll be watching the tutorial again - must be doing something wrong. Anyone up for some advice?? Leave me a comment, PLEASE.

And this is how the mini book works:

Cut pages for the inside. About 3. A tiny bit smaller than 8 x 6.  (I recycled some ordinary copy paper from the office) For the cover cut one 8 x 6.  Fold everything in half, punch two holes on the spine of your book, use some twine / stitching to bind and add to the outside and inside what you like. I did cut my back cover a bit shorter at the bottom as I wanted it to fit perfectly into the 6 x 4 pocket.  Just slip the back cover into the page protector slot and the rest stays on top. It gives my layout a lot of dimension, extra space for journaling and I even added some stickers and more pictures to the inside.

That's it. Another page in my life recorded!  I love my stuff!! 

Thanks for looking at my blog today. I love my daily chats with you and please come back to play as I'll be showing my #3 mini album for PL tomorrow - the non Silhouette version.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Hazel