Happy SPRING!!

Hello Bloglanders

In Afrikaans SPRING means "jump" and today I feel like jumping - we are having a beautiful sunny day!! We had lunch outside and I even went outside with short sleeves to try and get a tan for the upcoming summer. Not very successful, but it was nice, warm and FUN.

I actually brought flower home decor to get you into the SPRING mood:

I recycled empty jars into vases, filled it with flowers and ivy from my garden and hung everything with wire hangers from Typo and some pretty, pink ribbon.

Done in minutes!! And so pretty. It's been hanging on my front door for the past 2 weeks and still looks brand, spanking new and fresh.

And now for the card I made for my niece. She is having a "farm" party and I decided to carry the theme through to my birthday wishes.

I used my Silhouette to die cut the shape, a bit of glue and it was done. Now for the surprise:

I love cards that are mini gifts.  This one has some die cut animal shapes in a bag that I've sewn to the inside of the card.  I used an animal die and some self adhesive craft foam. Now my little niece can use the animals to decorate her party bags, put them on cards or give away as is.  I also did an additional die cut of the card and will include that in my package. She can then make a card to give to her horse riding teacher as a gift. Perfect gift to keep an 8-year-old interested and busy!

I'm submitting my project to the SimonSaysStamp Wednesday challenge "Anything Goes". It is a GREAT project and I even made a video showing my results.  I'll offload it this evening and include the ink for you to see. Check back and all will be revealed. My very, very first video!! I told you - Spring is for new beginnings!!

That's it. Thanks for visiting. Have a ball and SPRING!!!

More IS More Watercolour midweek madness

Hallo Bloglanders

I'm just checking in to let you know that I'm still in Blogland and doing my bit be creative. Once again  - the office is busy, the house in chaos, my mom's sick and I just don't have enough time to get to everything BUT I do try to do something crafty every day.

And my project: Watercolour painting with stamps, pics, die cuts and LOTS of journaling.

Last weekend on our camping trip I did some watercolour painting and when everything was thoroughly dry, I used stamps from my stash to pretty it up. I was very pleased with the result and didn't want to spoil it and so I scanned my original and printed another on watercolour paper:

On the left is my copy and on the right the original.

And then I started painting.  You can paint over the stamped images because they are no longer ink but copied!! ........................... and therefore don't bleed. I wanted a "less pink" look for this page:

And then I added die cuts from my stash, a few pics and the journaling. I never thought I would like a page as crazy as this one but I totally love it.  That's why I adore challenges - they get me out of my comfort zone and make me try something new.

Best thing is - I can print and paint some more on demand and will definitely be using some in my Project Life Layouts. Just watch this space and you will meet this "work of art" again. 

And a bit of a close-up:

My layout is a  journal of sorts. I listed who went on our camping weekend, what we ate and what the camp site and weather was like. Now it's going into my PL album next to pictures of the wonderful weekend

My inspiration came from the SimonSaysStamp blog Wednesday challenge (use watercolours)  and of course - Wilna's Art & Design over at Big Picture Classes. Watercolours ............................. what an easy, "cheap" way to pretty up your creations.

Thanks for visiting my blog today. Please check back as I have tons more to share right here on Play as U Go and remember to try something new - TODAY!!

Until we meet again.

Love and Sunshine from Sunny South Africa

Hazel

Use what you've got!!

Hello Bloglanders

It's very, very cold down under in Sunny SA.  We don't get snow - at least only on the very highest of mountains BUT currently it's COLD.  My hands (and brain) seems to be frozen, my house is a mess and we are going nowhere slowly to say the least!

SO, I decided to keep busy. Out came my good old Cuttlebug and some dies. The ones in the picture is from Amy Tangerine's Plus One range and the small ones are from MFT.  And no ordinary paper for me this time round ............................................

Cork, wood veneer, corrugated carton and craft foam. And now I have this:

Everything went according to plan except for the cork that tore quite easily especially with the camera shape. Solution: I added adhesive backing from Sizzix before cutting. Worked like a charm and now I have self adhesive embellishments - ready to go! And I couldn't wait to try them out on a Project Life layout:

And some cards:

I do love the black craft foam best, don't you? Left top I have red corrugated carton and black craft foam. Bottom left - cork and red corrugated carton. Top right is the cherry wood veneer and the bottom one the black craft foam again. I didn't add sentiments as I use these cards for greetings but also as part of PL. When I want to mail one off, I just mount it and add a sentiment. I do keep a box of pre cut cards ready to e use when needed.

This was SO worth my while.  Since I got my Silhouette, I didn't utilize my Cuttlebug at all but I still love it and it's great to use up scraps.

That's it!! I'm off to have a warm cup of coffee.  Think I'll look through my die stash and keep cutting while everything is out. 

Thanks for looking at my blog today. I'll be back. Have fun and remember to try something new today.

Ps. For those of you wondering - I liked the OXOX more than XOXO so I kept it like that - IMPERFECT ME!!!