Layout day

Hi there bloglanders

As you know by now, I prefer to be playing with mixed media but duty comes before pleasure.  I'm here to share the layout I made this week of our camping trip earlier this month.  Actually, I used a sketch from Enmarc as inspiration. Normally, I don't do stuff like this but once you start moving around in blogland, you sort of get hooked and inspired by all your playmates.  My style is normally more pictures and less paper and trimmings but it was huge fun to try it out.

Here is my interpretation.

and this is what the sketch looked like.

I had to use two Enmarc products. (I chose the scalloped photo frame on the right and the bird on the branch on the left) I didn't even color them as they fitted in with the natural, organic look of my layout.  Nearly all the paper (except the 2 background pages) are mismatched scraps left over from other projects.  The journaling is underneath the big picture where it says "storie". (Story in Afrikaans)

And here's the story.  I'm not really a "camper".  My parents did the fly everywhere option and we stayed in hotels and ate off the menu most of the time.  My husband on the other hand, is a CAMPER!! So, we share!  Half the time we do what I'm used to and the other half we go camping and what an adventure it turned out to be.  The best one we have done up till now is the Kaokoveld in northern Namibia - you need a 4x4 and nerves of steel (and all your own food, water, pretty much everything)

In short this is what this layout is about - you never now how much you can gain by giving in to something you had set your mind against.

Hope you enjoyed my layout. Check back tomorrow and we will play some more.

Playing with recipes

Hi there bloglanders

I was supposed to share a mini book yesterday but a card got in the way.  So, without further ado I’ll show you the recipe book I made for a friend’s kitchen tea.  I thought it would be a great idea if all her friends brought along a tried and tested recipe to write in the book. I took a lot of pictures – ENJOY!

First up is the front of the book.  I did the layout in Photoshop, included the bride and groom’s initials and printed it onto photo paper. You will also notice the glare on my picture but this time its not due to my lack of photography skills – I put a sheet of transparency over the front and back covers as this little book will be used in a kitchen where it could get messy.

This is the first page. On the left I wrote a note to my friend on a Scrap RDV journaling card (freebie from here) and on the right is my Pinterest Risotto recipe. (Got it here)

The inside pages were copied double sided onto thick paper as this was the cheapest option. You will see at the bottom of each page that I included a space where my friend can write whose recipe it is as well as the date that she first made it. I love cookbooks with dates and notes – even the shop bought ones. There is also a space where she can rate every recipe with marks out of 10.

On the back page I included a dictionary description of the word “cook”.  ( Kook in Afrikaans) It seems that there is a lot more to cook than food! (In Afrikaans even your temper can reach boiling point!)

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  If I can figure it out, I will post the artwork on my blog as freebies for you to use should you want to. BUT – I first have to figure it out!! Enjoy the rest of your day. See you tomorrow!

Another Tag

Hi there bloglanders

I actually had today's post ready when I came upon this challenge and as always I'm up for it!  I love twine but the black, pink and white colour scheme didn't suit my style.  So, the only thing I do in colour schemes I don't like, is cards.  Therefore, please bear with me as I'm posting another "tag" today. Here is the challenge brief.

I actually learned something from this challenge!  I have tried to do stitching with twine before but it is always looks too chunky.  This time I divided the strands and used only the pink one for the stitching.  I'm planning to do another card with the white strands that are left. 

Even though my play date was short and sweet today, I hope you enjoyed it and that it will inspire you to think out of the toy box next time you look at twine. Please check back tomorrow. Have a great Monday!

Lets play Tag

Hi there bloglanders

I'm back to show you a tag I made.  The idea came from here. I love the Scrap RDV blog!  If you have ever wished for a blog with lots and lots of creative ideas, look no further.  This  month they are doing tags (amongst buckets full of other stuff) and sharing the most wonderful freebies that you can use to make tags, cards, layouts or hybrid projects.

I've used quite a few of their freebies already and today I'm sharing a shipping tag I dolled up and used (yes, you guessed correctly!!) for a front cover of a notebook. 

I used a shipping tag from here, embossed it, inked it and added the die cut leaf , vellum birdie, the Scrap RDV sentiment and some twine from The Twinery. Easy Peasy done within a few minutes.

Here is a picture of my notebook stash before I gave some away as Valentine's  day gifts.

Have a wonderful week and please come back to play.  I'm off to add a title to the camping layout that has been on my table for the past week. Once it's done, I'll share the pictures and the story.

Scrap flowers

Hi there bloglanders

As promised, I'm here to show you how I recycle all our empty cereal boxes into flowers that I use on all my girly presents.  Yesterday I showed you the pressies I did for my mum's friends. Every one of them had one of these flowers on and they didn't cost me anything. Normally I have a whole box full but after my mum's gifts and my Christmas presents my box is empty and I have to start all over. When the box is full, I keep looking at them - they look like jewels to me!

Without further ado.

1. When I have time and scraps, I punch and cut them up - ready to be used or to be given away for multimedia projects.
2. I flatten all our boxes and use them for mini books and die cuts whenever I need them. Normally I will glue a piece of scrap paper (in this case an old dictionary page) onto the printed side of the recycled carton and then punch out my shape.  This makes a nice and sturdy shape. (It's like making my own thickers)
3. I choose a few shapes and sizes; add a little ink to the edges and a button for the middle.
4. Before I add the button, I punch two holes into the middle of the flower and then I thread the twine through the holes and the buttons simultaneously.  Tie the twine with a knot or a bow.
5.  Ready to be used whenever needed.
6. This is my jewelry box - now full of scraps but by next week I'll have a whole new batch of jewels in there.

Well, that's it for today. Thanks for playing with. Tomorrow we'll play "tag" again.

Toy of the day: Reuse, recycle and repurpose. This makes scrapping so much cheaper and more worthwhile.

Making mini's for mum

Hi there bloglanders

This was suppose to be my post for "mini Monday" but then all my Valentine's Day projects got in the way. Actually, I wanted to show you a layout today but the one I did, still needs a title and until I come up an original one, it will stay on my craft desk.

These are the little books I made for my mum’s friends. She is 74 years old and an eager photographer. All the pictures and quotes came from her. I did the layout in Photoshop and had it printed on ordinary paper (thicker than normal copy paper) and laminated (they are going to be used a lot!). The pages are kept together with an ordinary key ring and I added a laminated heart shape and some ribbon.  

I even gift wrapped them for my mum – tissue paper, dictionary page, ribbon and a scrap flower.  I love these flowers and will show you how I make them in tomorrow's post. All our cereal boxes gets cut up and recycled into scrap flowers.

Here they are packed and ready to be delivered- all 20 of them!

I hope you enjoyed our play date. Please check back tomorrow and we will play with the DIY scrap flowers. 

Tip of the day:  I saw the very best method to print directly onto tags today.  You can check here if you want to know too.

  

Last Valentine's playdate

Hi there bloglanders

I hope you are enjoying every minute of this "love"ly day!  All my goodies have been distributed and our picnic basket is packed to the brim with wonderful goodies for a picnic in the garden this evening. When my son saw what I was doing, he asked for a basket for him and his girlfriend as well.  Easy (and cheap) as I just divided everything in two.

The last idea I wanted to share with you is the bottles of sparkling wine that I packed in the baskets. Little red hearts stamped with a sentiment and some Maraschino twine from The Twinery and this ordinary treat is dressed in a festive red apron.  Now I'm done for the day and off to play!

Tomorrow all the Valentine's day goodies will be removed from the shelves and everything will start all over - this time with eggs and bunny's. I'm excited and have already been thinking up a storm how to make it special for my family. Please come back to play and I'll share my ideas with you.