May 2016 be you Best - EVER!!!

I'll be back blogging next week. Currently I'm catching up on admin, spending time in my pool or on the porch drinking ice cold West Coast Sauvignon Blanc.

Have a happy 1st week of 2016!!

Happy Holidays 2015

Hello Bloglanders

It's that time of the year again .................................. time for me to wish you happy holidays.

Have fun, enjoy well deserved time with your loved ones and make time to do something special for yourself.

Happy Valentine's Day

Good morning and happy Saturday to you all!!

While looking for some non edible Valentine's Day inspiration on Pinterest I stumbled upon the most beautiful subway art.  But I'm Afrikaans ............................... , my family is Afrikaans ................................... and my friends are Afrikaans. So, I made my own!!

To all my fellow South Africans - "Geniet" and to my English speaking friends, this post says it all if you are looking for "lovely" Subway Art - Enjoy.

Have a GREAT day, do something special, have FUN and make some more memories.

PS. If you are looking for more "Afrikaans Subway Arikaans, just click on the here.

                LINK                             LINK                             LINK                                 LINK

Merry Christmas 2014 and a WONDERFUL 2015

Good morning Bloglanders

I'm just checking in to wish you well for the festive season.  I hope that all your dreams will come true and that you will have a blast with your loved ones.

I know I didn't get to everything I planned for 2014 but I'm fine with that. I'm going to sit back and relax and have lots of fun with Wynand and the children. We will be spending our holiday in Europe this year.  We've all been there before but NEVER in winter.  For someone from Sunny South Africa, that means that hopefully we will have a white Christmas.

As my Project Life came to a screeching halt when my mum got sick, I will do monthly layouts for November and December but that will have to wait for a brand new year.

In the meantime, have fun and ENJOY!!! See you around Blogland in 2015.

Happy Mother's Day 2014!!

Hi there Bloglanders

I hope you are all having a ball - whether you are a mum or just treating your nearest and dearest - this is a day to kick up your heels and ENJOY!! I'm actually all alone - both the boys are otherwise occupied, Wynand had a back operation and will be in hospital until next week and my mum lives 4 hours away.

I'm treating myself to a long walk in the park and then I'm going to sit in the sun with a good book. No daily chores today. And for my Afrikaans Bloglanders - some Mother's Day Subway art:

If you haven't bought a pressie or card - print and you are ready to go.  I've actually printed mine X8 on one A4 sheet and used it as wrapping paper for my little pressie. 

Something else. I'm turning 50 in 3 months time. To celebrate the occasion, I have decided to print 50 pictures of myself and make an album "all about me".  Here is one of me with my mum taken about 47 years ago:

For every 6x4 picture, I plan to include a journaling box telling the story. While I have this day all to myself, I think I'll start on the first 10 pics. You will see and hear more about this project right here on Play as U Go!!

Thanks for looking at my blog today. Have fun and a marvellous Mother's Day.

Hazel

Easter Wall Art

Hi there Bloglanders

Happy Tuesday to you all!! I had a bit of extra time and decided to make some Easter wall art in Afrikaans. I'm sorry for the majority of my Bloglanders because you won't understand but when I was looking for ideas I couldn't find ANYTHING in Afrikaans.  There are lots of Easter eye candy for the English speaking available.

Anyway, I think even though it's in Afrikaans, you will get the idea and love it anyway.  Here is my "Afrikaans Easter wall art":

 I've only used my Silhouette Software to do the print.  Much easier and user friendly than Photoshop (IMPERFECT ME).  I did struggle with my new version 3 software and in the end it malfunctioned to the extent that I reverted back to the previous version.  I AM going to upgrade again but for now I think I love my little red scissors on top so much that I'm staying with it a little while longer.

And for my English speaking Bloglanders.
PAASFEES = Easter
Die Paashaas hop, hop, hop = The Easter Bunny hops, hops, hops
'n Mandjie vol lekkernye = A basket full of treats
Soek Paaseiers = Easter egg hunt
Tweet tweet, my storie is uit = something like "tweet tweet, this is the end of my story"
Hierdie hasie lief jou = This bunny loves you .................... it's sort of my version of "some bunny loves you".

There you have it. My attempt!

Thanks for looking at my blog today and please come back to play as I have lots and lots more to share with you. Right now I'm off to find a frame for my subway art.

Have a great day!

Hazel

A "thank you" Mini Folder Card

Good morning Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Marvellous Monday!  Today I have a card to share.  Now, you know that I'm more of a letter / tag kind of girl but the whole family had to write "thank you notes" to my dad so we decided to do a card that works like a mini folder.

Here is the inside:

We wrote our notes on ordinary notebook paper and I stitched them in red thread to the inside of the "folder". The notes are different sizes as I love the dimension it gives.  "Dankie" (Thank you in Afrikaans) was done with my Silhouette. I planned the bottom notebook page that the "Date" that was pre printed, showed above the stack of notes and used my date stamp beneath it.

And on the outside it looks like this:

I used the same subway art that I made here. Just printed this one 6x4 to fit my "folder". As easy as that!

My dad received the card via snail mail (he doesn't do electronic media) and called yesterday to thank me for the beautiful card. Mission accomplished!!

That's it. I'm off to some more crafting fun.  Have a great day and thanks for looking at my blog today.

Hazel

Happy New Year!!

Hi Bloglanders

Not every day that I do 2 posts BUT there are still 2 hours of 2013 left and I'm off to watch some fireworks. And the point is ................................... I don't want to schedule my post (IMPERFECT ME doesn't trust that one, can you believe it???) and I'm afraid that I won't be back / forget to do it just after midnight. So, here it is, specially for U,  my Blogland friends:

Love U!!
Hazel

Happy Holidays

Hi there Bloglanders

I'm on my way to get the last things done for dinner with the family.  I still have lots more to share with you but that will have to wait until after Christmas.  Three years ago I stated "Project 52". My idea was to get 52 projects done during a year. (excluding scrapbook and PL pages) Since I started blogging, that amount has upped and I've done more than 150 projects during 2013!! I do get depressed quite easily and it helps to keep me going if I have to put something up for you to see on a daily basis and the creativity around Blogland does wonders for me.

For the first time, I have a whole file of "un blogged" projects.  I can't decide if this means that I've been more depressed during 2013 or just more inspired. Let's go with the "more inspired".  And on that positive note ...................................... Happy Holidays to you, my Blogland friends.

I did bring a project to share!! Here it is:


It started out as another of my Afrikaans Subway Art projects. Once done, I decided to do one for my English Blogland friends as well.  The idea was sort of a chalkboard effect and I used the Silhouette software for everything. Once done, I used the same shape ......................................

For my Christmas cards:

As well as for the little canvas bags I made:

I've done a whole stack of  these. They are approximately 6x4 and inside I've put a framed subway art print. They were mailed to family and friends that I won't see over the festive season. Also, I've stuffed some with little pressies for the neighborhood kids. Nothing like keeping them occupied over the holidays and it's a great way to recycle some of your stash.

The last one didn't get photographed ................................ YET!! To tell you the truth, I totally forgot about them until I started doing this post. See what I mean about Blogging being creative?? I've used the same artwork for tags. Totally unique and in Afrikaans .................................... I love using my home language in crafting projects.

That's it ................................. 1 project - 4 ways. I hope you enjoyed today's crafting fun.  Be safe and enjoy the festivities. I'll be back with some more projects. Just come back to play.

If you want to download my subway art, you are welcome to get it:
here in English
hier in Afrikaans

Love U
Hazel

Subway Art Gift Bag

Hallo Bloglanders

I'm on my way to Robertson to visit my oldest friend, Anél.  We grew up on neighbouring farms and have known one another since our mothers were pregnant together. She always says we know each other since womb days. Anél's birthday is in December and visiting her has become one of my December traditions. Today I'm sharing the packaging for her birthday gift:

I wrote something in Afrikaans about how grateful I am that she is my WONDERFUL friend and that I love her very much.  Inside is a home made gift but I'll share the gifts once she has opened it up. And here you can see the front and the back of the canvas bag:

And this is what I did: I made the canvas bag myself as I have lots of fabric scraps.  After I have formulated my Subway Art, I shaped and sized it in Silhouette Studio, cut it out of smooth pink heat transfer and ironed it on. As easy as that!  And ................................ remember to flip your image for heat transfer! You can see that I even added a little badge to the back of the bag with "handmade with (red heart) by Hazel".

I love how it turned out and I'm already thinking about making some more.

That's it from me. I'm off to Robertson but I'll be back tomorrow to share my Christmas Gingerbread House. Thanks for visiting my blog today and please come back to play as I have lots more to share right here.

Hazel

Subway art in AFRIKAANS!

Hi Bloglanders

Happy Friday to you all. Back to Big Picture and it's time for challenge #4: Use vintage fonts. I have a horrible handwriting and are quite a "fonty" but I use the ones I like and have never thought about it being vintage or not.  True to my nature I decided to use as many as possible! And this is what it looks like:

I just love subway art but they are all in English so I got into it and made one in Afrikaans that resembles my own family's values.  I'm actually going to print this in A3, frame it and hang it in my kitchen for all to see. For a first attempt at vintage fonts and subway art, I'm chuffed with my effort.  Thanks to Elizabeth and Stacy over at Big Picture - without you I would never have tried this one.

And for my non Afrikaans Bloglanders - I'm not sure everything is translated 100% but it's the best you'll get from IMPERFECT ME.

my familie = my family
is lief vir mekaar = loves one another
help ander mense = help others
luister as met hulle gepraat word = listen when spoken to
hou van diere = loves animals
leer uit hul foute want niemand is perfek nie = learn from mistakes, nobody is perfect
ruim agter hulsef op = clean up
se hulle is jammer as hulle verkeerd was = say sorry if they were wrong
help mekaar = help one another
probeer altyd positief wees = try to be positive
praat altyd die waarheid = speak the truth
is regverdig = be fair

That's it. My family values recorded!  Thanks for looking at my blog and please come back as I have lots more to share with you. Have a wonderful weekend!

Hazel