Monochrome Mini Magic

Happy Week 23 Bloglanders

OK, maybe you are counting differently but what's important is that we are nearing the middle of 2016. Time to get going and get things done.

I just came back from a mini holiday / maxi weekend and decided to get my pictures and memorabilia into my Project Life album right away!

Most of my pictures went into 6x12 Project Life pockets but I decided to put the journalling, more pictures and memorabilia into a mini book (well sort of) and add it to my album. Like I did here.

I just cut an old school exercise book to 6x12 and sew it to a page protector.

Everything except the page protector is from my scrap stash - I even recycled a printed paper bag from my previous birthday's pressie.

Now just for a bit of decorating:

I decided to go for a monochrome look inspired by the SimonSaysStamp Monday Challenge. Normally I'm not a natural kind of girl but because this was all about an outdoor, camping trip in the wild of Sunny SA, it worked perfectly.

Did you spot more of my "secret sewing"?

And it's in my 6x12 Project Life album:

I hope to have a video soon of all my holiday pictures. I'm sure you would love to page through it with me. In the mini book are loads of brochures, maps, notes and more pictures.  The maps and brochures are BIG and folds out or fit into glassine pockets that I've added to the inside pages.

That's it. Another project done and dusted!! Thanks for visiting my blog today and please come back to play. In the meantime, have FUN and craft on. I'll be back later this week to show my super sexy picnic basket. All handmade by ME and in a monochrome colour-scheme as well. Love it!!

PS. For those of you who want an inside peek, this is my VERY first attempt at a video. Please bear with me - I'm sure I'll improve with every one I make!!

Going, going GONE!!

Hello Bloglanders

No, I'm not letting go of my little blog - I'm just officially letting you know that I LOVE to travel and plan to do so whenever the opportunity arises. For years my boys came first but now that they have lives of their own, I'm off to GO, SEE, DO.

For the past week I joined Wynand on a business trip to Upington. We extended our stay to visit 2 of South Africa's national parks - The Augrabies Falls and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. I'm on a quest to visit ALL the South African National Parks - have a look - we have a LOT!!

Let me show you the Project Life pages I made while there.

Augrabies Falls:

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park:

I only used my iPhone (Project Life LetterGlow and PhotoGrid Apps). What I love about this method of memory keeping is that it's simple, LOTS of pictures and my story is being told while I'm still there to enjoy the moment.

When I have time, I'll still do layouts and "embellishment scrapping" but with my lifestyle getting busier and storage space less, I plan to keep doing a lot of digital memory keeping. I keep reminding myself that this is MY LIFE, MY STORY and I can tell it whatever way I choose.

That being said, I'll be using above pictures in my Travel Journal as well but this one will get more handwritten detail.  I'll also include tags in both above layouts to tell it all. While at the parks, I gathered some brochures and maps and this will probably go towards a "mini" book that will go into my PL album. Like the one I did here.

And a peek for the lazy / busy ones:

Link to Project Life travel book

If you missed out on my post about doing Project Life on my iPhone. Get it here.

Link to phone memory keeping

Sunny South Africa is heading towards winter which means that our light quality is less. My photo taking skills is totally zero and therefore, I wait untill the natural light is better to take pictures (on my phone, of course!!) First in line on my photo taking list is my totally awesome picnic basket.  I can't wait to show you!! I couldn't find anything to fit my needs and decided to make my own. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!

I'll be back to show what happens in my life and on my craft table. In the meantime, have FUN and remember to try something new - TODAY.

Quince Jelly Labels

Happy Monday Bloglaners

I hope you will have a fabulous week!! Let's start with my weekend project. Cooking quince jelly. I used this recipe and the results are very good. No need for complicated stuff, just cook and bottle.

As u use only a teeny bit at a time and I wanted to include my quince jelly in snack packs to give away, I decided to use little spice jars to bottle it. They are TINY and therefore I needed tiny labels.

Inspired by the SimonSaysStamp Monday challenge (EMBOSS IT), I decided to try my hand at heat embossing. I bought the stuff more than a year ago but have never used it. For a first attempt it turned out GREAT!!

Can't think why I've never done it - OK, my mum was sick and I think all that messy powder just scared me. Now that the ice is broken, I will do some more heat embossing projects. Watch this space and all will be revealed.

Some watercolour and die cutting with my SimonSaysStamp stitched circles and my project was done.

All lined up and ready for my quince jelly jars.

And dressed-up ready to be used or gifted:

Looking at my close-up pics - maybe I should have "boiled" my embossing powder a bit more BUT that's the thing, I love being IMPERFECT and I'm sure my friends and family would not even notice. Next time I'll experiment a bit more.

And here you can see how I'm using my mini quince jelly jars. Unfortunately this one was given away before the SimonSaysStamp embossing inspirations hit me!! My gift box with (mostly) homemade goodies looks "good enough to eat" and I would love to receive an edible gift like this!!

That's it!! Thanks for looking at my blog today. Have a wonderful week and please come back to play.

Happy end of April!!

Hello Bloglanders

Before we start on a new month, I want to show what I've been up to over the past few days. In South Africa we have a long weekend at the end of April - if you take a day or two off from work, it is more like a mini holiday!! Wynand and I decided to stay at home to get some home and office admin done and of course, I had a bit more time at my craft desk.

I totally love making mini books packed with memorabilia and info about our trips and travels. More than that - I always collect souvenirs and add it to my book's binder rings or I keep them on our kitchen "key board". Let me first show you a close-up of the mini book binder ring.

I added broken shells and a silver dolphin collected while on holiday as well as the "Lazy Days" trinket, a few pieces of ribbon from my stash and of course, a key chain with a picture of me. I love these acrylic key rings and use them all the time to label my craft projects or add a personal touch.

Such a GREAT feeling when you use your scraps and scrapping tools on alternative projects. For the acrylic key ring I use a left-over picture, cardstock and letter stickers. All from my stash. Circle punch and it's done. If you don't have a circle punch, don't fear, they even come with a cutting template - scissors will do!!

This week I'm submitting my project for the SimonSaysStamp Monday challenge - "SHOW US YOUR METAL".

Here is one where  I've used metal (and another acrylic key ring) as part of my collection of European holiday souvenirs:

This one hangs on my kitchen "key board". Wynand custom made this board for me - it covers the ugly electrical board on our kitchen wall and supplies much needed storage space for our keys. YES!!! we do have a LOT!! This "key board" is one of my most prized possessions!!

I also have an "African" collection and a "beachy" one on my board. Can you spot them????? If not, hop over to my Instagram feed - I've uploaded some pics just for you!!

Now, I'm off to get my hands on another crafting project. Monday is still a public holiday which means that I have lots of time to finish up some FUN things. I'll be back ............................................

In the meantime, have fun and remember to try something new - TODAY.

April Showers bring May flowers Project Life Title Card

Happy Monday Bloglanders

I hope you are having a wonderful day!! Today, I want to share my handmade Project Life Title card for week 16:

My inspiration came from the SimonSaysStamp Monday Challenge - "April Showers bring May flowers". Not so easy if you live down under in Sunny SA where we are heading for winter!! I decided to take my inspiration from a rainbow and use the rainbow colours.  This is what I got from my scrap stash:

I just glued strips of paper from my scrap stash onto a 6x4 piece of cardstock - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Then I toned it down with some white acrylic paint and distressed it a bit. Some stamping and embellishments from my stash and it's done!!

Another week in my life captured!

Thanks for looking at my blog today. I have heaps of office work but will be speeding through it to get time to do some more crafting. Please come back to play as I have lots more to share right here on Play as U GO.

Just a sneak peek - over the weekend I made 2 Layouts. They fit onto 6x12 pages in my Project Life album. Love them. I'll be back to share some detailed info later this week.

Until we meet again ................................  have FUN and remember to try something new - TODAY!!

Happy Birthday Card

Good morning Bloglanders

Happy Wednesday to all of you!!  I think I'm having a mild depression .......................... yes,seriously! During 2015 SO many things happened that I went onto auto pilot and now it seems that I just can't snap out of it.

I found that the only thing keeping me from staying in bed the whole day, is if I set myself a challenge and keep to it. It does make me feel better to see that I can still be creative.  Yesterday, my challenge was from the SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge Blog.

I don't make a lot of cards but find that my whole family tends to give gift cards or money and for that we  need pretty cards.What better way to use up scraps, be creative and make something?

I used the Single Roses die from SimonSaysSamp and just piled up my die cuts onto a watercolour background. A bit of black stamping, a sentiment and it's DONE.

Here you can see the dimension on my card.

Of course I made some more of these pretty roses and that will be going towards a Project Life Page. That's on my desk and anti-depressant list for today!!

If you want to see ..................................... check back or join my Instagram feed and you'll be the first to see.

In the meantime, have fun and remember to try something new - TODAY!! I'll be back to show my efforts right here on Play as U GO.

Stencil and Molding paste on my Travel Notebook

Happy Sunday Bloglanders

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I cooked, played and drank some good South African West Coast Sauvignon blanc. But that's not all - I had some extra time for crafting.

I finished 2 Project Life Layouts, a 6x12 Layout and a double page spread in my Travel Notebook. Let's start with that:

I used one 4x6 photo, edited it in Photogrid and added some titles and dates. Then into my book. I wanted to try out my new Kelly Purkey inks but totally lost the plot with the grey and had to do something to tone down my effort.

I've had stencils and moulding paste in my stash for AGES but never tried my hand at it on one of my layouts. Out it came and this is what it looks like:

I totally love how it cleaned up the mess but still looks artsy and crafty. Done!!

Now for the inside info. While I was deciding what to do, I saw this challenge on the SimonSaysStamp Monday Challenge Blog. Inspired, I went searching for my stencils and molding paste. And I did another project while everything was out - I'll be back tomorrow to show how I used it to decorate my Project Life cards.

Remember to check back!! Here is a sneak peak - just for you!!

In the meantime, I'm off to have a "braai" (barbeque) on my "stoep" (porch). Beautiful weather down under in Sunny SA!!!