3x4 Project Life Travel Mini Book

Hello Bloglanders

Happy Friday to you all!! Wynand and I are on our way for a camping weekend. He's a VERY happy camper!!

But, I'm not checking in to tell you about our trip - you can check my Instagram feed to see what it looks like and I'll be sure to share some pictures next week. I do want to show my Project Life Travel mini book.

I do love mini books but they tend to sit on my coffee table and I miss out on their picture in my Project Life spreads as I don't want to duplicate. SO, I came up with the idea to include mini books in my PL spreads. You can see more of them here.

This one fits into a 3x4 PL page protector:

After our camping weekend, I'll show the whole page. Just check back and all will be revealed. Let me show you how I made it.

One piece of rather sturdy cardstock of 3 x 4-and-a-bit (add a bit to the length of your card where you can sew on the pages) Cut a few pages - I did different lengths as I wanted the bottom ones to peek out. I used ordinary copy paper but you can do cardstock if you want to. Now fold the copy paper pages in half.

Now stitch / staple / bind. I use paperclips to keep everything in place.

Now ............................................ let the games begin!!! Embellish your mini with scraps / new stuff / pretties you've been hoarding ............................... just GO!! And this is what mine looks like:

My caravan and car comes from a previous Silhouette cut and paste project, the rest are die cuts from scraps of paper and SURPRISE (drumroll!!!!) ............................ in my next post I'll share my Sewing Secrets. Check back - you will not believe that adding sewing to your photos / layouts / journaling could be so easy. BUT, that's for next time. If you are curious, see if you can figure it out from my Instagram feed.

And a sneak peak inside my PL mini book:

And here I'll be adding info about the campsite:

That's it!  I have to GO. People to see, things to DO, places to GO. Happy weekend to you all and I'll be back on Sunday with some pic's and my promised Secret Sewing post. In the meantime, have FUN and remember to try something new - TODAY!!

Make your own Background

Happy Sunday Bloglanders

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  I had FUN and a few projects to show but today I'm sharing a Multi Media project.

One of my New Year's resolutions was to make more backgrounds. Up till now, I just didn't get to it but when I saw the SimonSaysStamp Wednedsay challenge - I got my Gelato's out and here it is:

Only Gelatos, water and a print from Wilna's iheartstudio. The "quote" came from a sheet of patterned paper from Studio Calico. Have a look at my Planner Page where I've used it:

And a close-up:

That's it - STOP EVERYTHING AND DANCE!!

Have a GREAT week and thanks for looking at my blog today. I'll be back tomorrow with my Sunday Summery.

DIY Card Kit

Hello Blogland

And a Happy Wednesday to you all!! I'm rushing around to get everything done before the LOOOOOONG Easter weekend but first I want to show what I made.

My mom is very sick and a lot of people go out of their way to make her life easier and of course, they have to be thanked.  She has a full time carer and as mum sleeps most of the day, Gerda (the world's most wonderful carer) are always looking for ways to fill her hours.

So, I gifted her with a DIY Card Box. When she has time, she makes cards, write thank-you-notes and keeps up to date with mum's admin. What a brilliant idea! (even if I have to say so myself)

A peek inside the box:

And I packed everything in a box that I cut with my Silhouette. If you have one on hand that can be recycled, it should work just as well but I wanted to stay with my milky, pastel colour scheme which reminds me of my mom's clothes.

My cut files are from Wilna Furstenberg's  shop. When I cut some for myself, I do a whole page and keep the rest in my stash to decorate my planner, pressies, art journal and cards. I love her stuff.

I wanted square cards as they had to fit into quarters of the square box. Also, I wanted them to fit the envelopes which were shop bought (the cheaper option!). So, I customized my envelopes (will show you how I did it in my next post) and cut the cards accordingly. These were my "dry goods":



































And some of the finished cards:

And here you can see what went where in my DIY Card Kit:

It's a GREAT way to recycle and share your crafting leftovers with family and friends.  The only item that I bought, was the glue stick  - the rest all came from my stash. I have more than enough for a few more kits.

That's it. Have a Wonderful Wednesday. Tanks for visiting my blog today and remember to try something new today.

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

1 Piece of Painted Paper

Hello Bloglanders

Two weeks ago I showed you my "spots and dots painting" here. As always, I used it for various projects. Here is my Multimedia page:

I do love my purple journal!

And a close-up of "be inspired":

I've painted with acrylic paints, used die cuts from glitter foam and the rose was done with my Silhouette. It's nice and dimensional with lots of new techniques that I've tried. For my non-Afrikaans-speaking Bloglanders: INSPIRASIE = INSPIRATION. The whole page is all about what inspires me.

For my layout I added pictures of my inspiration - "my" cat, plates and new blanket:

I was brave enough to do some ink splatters  ............................... perfect for IMPERFECT ME. And still ............................................. I had some painted paper left.  As it's wedding season at HQ Hamman, I decided to do two wedding themed cards:

The wedding cake was cut from my painted paper and I used a Sizzix stamp and die set that I've had for ages and never used. To give my cards dimension, I used my fave scroll embossing folder to do the backing paper. That idea came from the SimonSaysStamp Wednesday challenge. You can click here to see what the rest of Blogland did with the same inspiration.

I did some more stamp and die cuts but saving it to do Project Life wedding pages. YES, my son's!!!!! And if the fancy takes me, I can use the card on the right as part of my layout. SO many possibilities.

That's it. I've got more crafting to do, new things to try and a life to enjoy. Thanks for looking at my blog and please come back to play.

LINK

Sunday Summary Week 27

Good morning Bloglanders

Do you ever get the feeling that nothing gets done??  For the past few months I've been feeling like that. I've been blogging less because I felt that I didn't get enough done and because I didn't blog, less did get done. So, last night I decided to make a list of the smaller things that I've done during the week ............................ and then I decided to do a summary of the week's smaller, less "bloggable" projects each Sunday.

Sit back and enjoy my first Sunday Summary!

I did a LOT of rusks. To fill our tins as well as for a 50th wedding anniversary pressie - I needed a "consumable" present. When you are 75+ you don't need more "stuff".

I did the "50ste" with my Silhouette, added a stamped card and a voucher - made from scrap paper in beautiful "citrussy" colours.  Wynand and I plan to treat the happy couple to breakfast at a nearby wine farm when we have better weather. (and once THE wedding is over)

Next up I got all my favourite stamps and dies out and recycled some scraps into usable PL embellishments:

In my quest for "waste not, want not" - I've decided to make my own die cut animals.  For months I've been trying to get hold of the Studio Calico wood veneers but if they have stock, I don't have an order and vice versa. Unfortunately, (or maybe it's a blessing in disguise) it's too expensive to order only one item to be shipped to Sunny SA. SO, out came my Papertreyink "on the farm" dies.

I've done these in cork and wood veneer (ex Simon Says Stamp)- once again I added adhesive backing from Sizzix before die cutting - now it's self adhesive!! Love them!!

And on the sewing table:

100 Napkins to be hemmed and personalized with heat transfer. Watch this space and you will meet again. On the right is a pattern I bought -  I'm making it in purple.

It's very, very cold in Sunny SA and Wynand and I go for a walk around our neighborhood every day and this was the view from my porch when we came back on Friday evening:

Doesn't seem like a lot when you don't count but now that it's been recorded, it looks like I've been busy. Makes me feel much more optimistic and energetic.

I've also done a lot of work on my PL pages but more about that later this week. Thanks for visiting my blog today and please come back to play. Have a GREAT week!

I love Notebooks!!

Hello Bloglanders

I hope you are having fun!  I have son #2 at home and it's totally wonderful and awesome. We will all go out for dinner on Sunday - SO looking forward to have Wynand, both the boys and girlfriends in one place even if it is only for a little while.

Back to my post.  I totally love notebooks and keep them on my desk all the time. I also like to have one for every important "thing" in my life. Remember, I told you that I recycle printed office paper to make them?  If you missed out, just click here and all will be revealed.

I'm currently co-managing my neighborhood information and administration channel. It just made sense to keep all my notes in one place and what a better chance to add a new notebook. Here she is: My CATBOOK:

Remember the paper?? I made it to wrap Girlfriend #1's birthday pressie a month ago.

LINK

I bought the gift wrap at our local stationary shop and then cut and printed little speech bubbles with names for the cats. (with compliments from my Silhouette)

Even on the inside pages I added some more cats:

And the cheery bunch on my desk:

My books are 7.5 x 7.5 as I recycle used A4 office paper. It fits into my handbag which make it easier for me to take along to meetings. I use my Zutter to bind it and the biggest binder that I have in my stash as I LOVE adding pages, print-outs, pictures and embellishments to the back pages (the used sides). When I use it, I flip the pages to the back and clip it onto a clipboard.  I will take pics and show in another post.

Thanks for looking at my blog today.  I hope I have inspired you to recycle, reuse and re purpose. 

Have a great day!

Hazel

Mini in the Making - 50 Things about ME.

Good morning Bloglanders

I hope you are well and had a wonderful weekend. We had a HUGE scare - a drunk driver drove into Pieter's girlfriend and her car is a total wreck. Except for a LOT of bruises, our Princess is fine. Worse part is that she was in a similar accident about a month ago and this was her brand new car. Only 1000 kilometers on the clock. Here is a picture ............................ see what I mean?

I did get some crafting done. Here is my mini in the making:


These will become my mini's front and back pages. I haven't decided yet.  My idea is to write down 50 things that most people might not know about me.  OK, I'll tell you one ........................... I just love chili sauce ......................... not any chilly sauce ........................ the Tabasco Chipotle one.  And another  ....................... I kick off my shoes anywhere / everywhere / all the time.  For as long as I can remember I've been doing this. Weird, isn't it?  IMPERFECT ME. I'm sure you have things like these and if you have, why not join me with a "mini in the making"?

This is what I do. I've pre printed journaling cards from the Becky Higgins Flea Market set.  I do love them.

When I get the time, I write something down, cut it to size and it goes onto an old Creative Memories journaling card. I've got stacks of these from when CM first left Sunny SA and all the stock was sold at huge discount prices. The journaling cards will just give that bit of extra dimension and sturdiness to my mini. Here is my stack:

And these have been done:

For my non South African Bloglanders. I don't sew on a Sunday. (no reason for that but I don't) and my fave flowers are Daffodils for the garden and Freesias for the vase.

Now back to my covers. I used 4 pieces of 4x6 cardstock scraps from my stash to die cut into my title and different shapes. With my Silhouette it took a few minutes and I have heaps of shapes.  I'll take a pic and show just how many you can get from just one 12 x 12 sheet. My Silhouette has a brand new cutting mat so I just added my different paper pieces and only did one cut.  You just have to keep in mind that you have different pieces of paper when you do your layout in Silhouette Studio. Even for a Dummy like me it was easy peasy.

I have done front and back cover pages - as I had all the negative shapes left after my front was done, I decided to use them on another page.  Now I can't decide which one I like best. The original or the negative side.  No need to choose, I'll just use both.

That's it from me. I'm off to write something in my "mini in the making" - just remembered that I don't like condensed milk. Thanks for looking at my blog today. Please check back as I have lots more to share. Have a Marvellous Monday!

Hazel

PS. Just remembered .......................... another one for my book. I don't "re read" my blog posts for mistakes / alterations. For this one I've got a reason -  If I do  I'll never publish it because I'll start re writing and doubting everything so I just hit the "Publish" button once I'm done.

Repurposed Book

Good evening Bloglanders

It's Sunday evening in Sunny SA and I thought I'd give the week a head start by writing my blog post tonight. I do have lot of office work and I'm still trying to get my house sorted.  That's what this post is about: sorting ............. recycle, reuse and repurpose.

At school the boys used to get lots and lots of exercise books. You know, those cheap, floppy ones. Some of them ended up with only a few pages used and then I felt too bad to throw them away. So, this weekend I decided to do something useful with them.  I'm not a big fan of 8x12 notebooks - just too big for my bag, desk and storage space. So, I cut them down to 5 and a half x 11 and covered them.

This one is for my home renovation:

I used a sheet of adhesive fabric from years gone by, added a belly band made out of scraps of  fabric and the little "home" accent.  Here you can see how I cut the book to size with my paper cutter:

And the Velcro on the inside of the belly band and the back where I stitched through the whole book to keep it in place. 

Lately I've been thinking about buying a digital cutter but after this weekend I think I'll stick with my Bugs for a while longer. With the Cuttlebug and my stash of dies, I can convert the smallest scrap of  fabric or paper into embellishments for my projects. So, just to show you that I do love my Bug, I added two hearts and a real vintage clip. Yes, it actually comes from my father's office and I've kept it for years in my drawer.  IMPERFECT ME!

I recycled a whole stack of books and have covered some more of them. I'll show them to you once their titles have been added. Back to my Bug and dies. In the meantime, I'm already using my HOME notebook and its expanding day by day.  Mission accomplished!

That's it from me. I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Thanks for visiting my blog and please come back to play as I have lots more to share with you.